Gerrit Cole played his first live hitting practice in the spring on Monday and he had Gary Sanchez behind the sign.
One of the stories of spring – and beyond – will be who the Yankees team with their ace after Cole had much more success launching for Kyle Higashioka than for Sanchez.
Perhaps complicating things is the arrival of Robinson Chirinos, who is on the field for a minor league contract. He picked up 16 of Cole’s matches in Houston in 2019 and Cole mentioned his relationship with Chirinos last week.
“In 2019, we could be on the same page, ” said Chirinos. “Gerrit is a tough guy to catch. He likes to talk. It was a challenge. “
In those 16 games two years ago, Cole had 2.46 ERA. He also worked with Martin Maldonado and in those 10 outings, he had an ERA of 1.57.
Cole, in his first season with the Yankees, sometimes struggled with Sanchez in the game. Over eight matches, Cole had an ERA of 3.91, which led to a change at the end of the year, when Higashioka took over as Cole’s personal catcher. In these seven matches – including the postseason – Cole ended with an ERA of 1.79.
And although the Yankees look set with Sanchez and Higashioka, Chirinos said he is not thinking about starting the season as minors.
“I’m not thinking about it right now,” said Chirinos. “I know that these guys are very good and have been here for a long time. I came this spring to show that I’m healthy, come on [the Yankees] choose and make a decision. “
Chirinos is also hoping that Sanchez will recover.
“He’s working hard, ” said Chirinos. “That’s the only thing that you ask as a teammate. Hopefully, he turns around and leaves the bad years in the past. He’s a big key to this team. “