Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Wednesday the team is considering using a sixth starter at times in April and May to help reduce a potential early strain on their rotation, per MLB.com. The Yankees have a stretch of 30 games in 31 days beginning April 17.
"It's a result of some of the stuff that's gone on over the last few years, not just here, but everywhere," Rothschild said. "We're aware of situations here and early in the season, we need to get these guys through these stretches. Being that possibly early in the spring, some of them aren't going to be able to throw a lot, we're going to need to build them up too and give them the extra days when we can."
CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano are expected to make up the team's five-man rotation. However, Tanaka, Sabathia and Pineda were all injured last season, as the Yankees used 13 starting pitchers.
Bryan Mitchell, Esmil Rogers, Adam Warren and Chase Whitley are some of the other pitchers that will be stretched out this spring.
"It'd be nice to go through a season with five starters, but there's a good chance we're not going to," Rothschild said. "There's a good chance every team in baseball won't, so it doesn't hurt to see who might fit in as a sixth starter."