The Yankees and Mets are facing each other in an exhibition on Saturday, but Gerrit Cole won’t be taking the mound.
First reported by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Gerrit Cole will make his next outing on Friday. This means Cole will avoid facing the New York Mets in an exhibition game on Saturday. It’s also worth noting the New York Yankees‘ new ace will have an extra day of rest before he starts on Opening Day on July 23.
Of course, the main reason for sending Cole out on Friday is that the Yankees want to give Cole the extra day before a game that actually counts towards the standings. Ironically enough, Cole’s splits are better on four days of rest than five days. In 100 starts on four days rest, Cole has a 2.77 ERA. Comparatively, in 63 starts on five days rest, he has a 3.86 ERA.
Still, most teams will opt to give the starter that extra day of rest before Opening Day or Game 1 of the postseason, if possible. As it stands, sending Jacob deGrom to the mound on Saturday would line him up for the Mets’ Opening Day game against the Atlanta Braves.
While most teams will opt to give their guy that extra day of rest before Opening Day, that might not be the only reason for the Yankees’ decision. There’s no sense in giving the Mets a look at Cole considering the Yankees will face their crosstown rival six times this year. That’s two possible starts for Cole.
And in a perfect world for each franchise, they’ll meet in the 2020 World Series. Obviously, a lot needs to happen for a potential Subway Series, but crazier things have happened. The year 2020 has proved as much. That would be pretty special on the 20th anniversary of the 2000 Subway Series when the Yankees dispatched of the Mets in five games.
