Despite not announcing it, the Yankees know who will replace Masahiro Tanaka in the rotation while the veteran right-hander nurses both hamstrings back to full strength while on the disabled list.
Right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga is the favorite to start against the Rays on Friday or Saturday despite the 23-year-old never pitching above Double-A.
What they don’t know is the identity of the pitcher they will acquire before the July 31 trade deadline. Before Jordan Montgomery — who underwent Tommy John surgery last week — and Tanaka went on the shelf, the industry strongly believed the Yankees would attempt to add a starter who would slot in between ace Luis Severino and Tanaka.