Gerrit Cole in Game 1 is probably followed by Carlos Rodon in Game 2 and Clarke Schmidt in Game 3…but would you consider Nestor Cortes for that start, or Luis Gil’s in Game 4, if he’s on the roster?
“Gil wasn’t very good; now I like him a lot, going in I thought he was the second-best starter, but what you saw against Cleveland wasn’t good,” Sal said. “I think he’s gonna get tattooed again. Now, no that Nestor couldn’t get tattooed either, but I would at least consider him starting instead of Luis Gil.”
“I wouldn’t, and I don't think there's any chance he’s gonna start,” BT said, agreeing with a statement Suzyn Waldman had made earlier on their show. “I think that there's more advantage for the ability to manipulate certain aspects of the game, where it might be an early-inning, higher-leverage spot where you go to Cortes to face a lefty with a couple of guys on, and it could be very advantageous. Even if you don’t use him, there’s still the notion he could come in – not that he’s gonna scare Freeman or Ohtani – but I think Cortes is a little rusty, so it’s where does the advantage lie in one of them out of the bullpen, and I think it’s Cortes.”
It’s a good problem to have for a fourth starter battle, even if you could theoretically be in a 2-1 or even 3-0 hole at that point, but these guys are going to have to agree to disagree.
“Either way it’s not a huge deal, although it’s good to have the Yankees get Cortes back and have another option,” Sal said. “I just feel I trust him to be a better pitcher – he is a better pitcher than Gil, he doesn’t have the stuff, but he’s a better pitcher than Gil.”
“He’s definitely craftier, but here’s the thing to me: who would you feel more comfortably coming in when there’s a lot of traffic and only one out?” BT shot back. “At that point, Gil would worry me that he's not gonna find the strike zone. Cortes is gonna nibble a little bit more, but he’s gonna be around the strike zone and not walk two guys in a row. He could roll the double play, and I just think there's more options, more chance for some outs with him.”