Yankees return to 5-man rotation and move Marcus Stroman to the bullpen

NEW YORK – With more than two weeks left in the regular season, the New York Yankees have a problem that most teams would be happy about: six healthy and capable starting pitchers at five positions.

Last week, they solved the problem by moving Nestor Cortes to the bullpen before implementing a six-man rotation for the next round. The plan was always to return to a five-man rotation after this week. This time, however, Cortes will not be the odd man out. It will be Marcus Stroman, manager Aaron Boone announced Friday.

Boone said Stroman, who has pitched all of his 148⅓ innings as a starter this season, will be available out of the bullpen on Sunday against Boston due to his regular rest period, five days after starting Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals.

Boone said “nothing is final,” but hinted that the Yankees would maintain a five-man rotation for the next two rounds. He said whether Stroman would remain in the bullpen for both rounds — if the Yankees stick with a five-man rotation — has not yet been decided.

“I would say it's kind of fluid,” Boone said. “But that's how I see it now.”

The Yankees signed the veteran Stroman to a two-year, $37 million deal with an option for 2026. He has posted a 4.07 ERA in 28 starts without ever going on the injured list, though the Yankees did delay a start last month so he could work on his technique after two terrible performances. Through June 28, he had a 3.29 ERA in 17 starts, but consistent with his struggles in the second half of recent years, he has posted a 5.47 ERA in his last 11 appearances.

The right-hander held the Royals to three runs in 5.5 innings on Tuesday after the Texas Rangers allowed five runs in 3.5 innings on Sept. 4.

“He's one of the reasons we're here,” Boone said. “He's done everything for us. He's made all of his starts. He's won a lot of games for us. I think one of the reasons we have a chance to get to the postseason is the consistency of our starting pitchers. And overall he's done a really good job for us.”

“And as I told him, one of the reasons we're in this position now is because all of our core players have done a good job and given us a chance to win a lot of games. It starts with them and he was right in the middle of all that.”

Stroman has played eight times as a relief pitcher in his ten-year major league career, throwing a total of 13⅓ innings. His last appearance as a relief pitcher was a year ago, when he pitched two relief pitches for the Chicago Cubs last September. In his first appearance, he threw two scoreless innings before allowing an unearned run in extra innings the next day.

Boone said he told Stroman on Thursday that he would return to the bullpen.

“Stro has been so good for us and so good in the room,” Boone said. “He's totally focused on the team and the guys there. So [his] The message to me is, 'Whatever you need, I'm ready.' I think he just wants to be part of a winner. And as much as we've enjoyed him being here with us and becoming a really important part of our team, the team has really loved him. Honestly, it's been a real pleasure for me to be able to coach him.”

Cortes was the other obvious candidate for demotion. The left-hander said he didn't know if he would return to the bullpen after limiting the Red Sox to one run in five innings on Thursday.

That start came after he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen against the Cubs on Sept. 7. After his relief appearance, Cortes admitted he was “upset” by the team's decision to move him to the bullpen and described himself as the team's “workhouse” this season.

“I'm just trying to go out there and get as many clean sheets as I can,” Cortes said Thursday night. “I know I may have seemed like I was asking for too much last week, but I made my point and at the end of the day I'm going to do whatever this team asks of me to win.”

That could ultimately mean pitching out of the bullpen again – either in September or October, when playoff rotations shrink to three or four starters.