Yankees rolling despite injuries

Red Sox manager Alex Cora sees plenty of talent in New York.

NEW YORK --- Alex Cora isn’t buying the Yankees as the loveable, plucky underdogs who just happen to sit atop the American League East.

The Red Sox manager sees a talented club regardless of the host of players New York currently has on the injured list. An additional 24 hours will pass before the two clubs open this weekend series, with heavy rain washing out the scheduled Thursday night contest at Yankee Stadium.

“The whole story about them not having good players, that’s for you guys,” Cora said late Thursday afternoon. “They have talent. And obviously they have talent on the IL. But the guys that are playing, they’re pretty good.”

Shortstop Didi Gregorius (Tommy John elbow surgery) is on a rehab assignment and looks to be nearing a return. Left-handed starter James Paxton threw four scoreless innings in a Wednesday victory over the Padres. The rest of the reinforcements might be on the field by the time this one is made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Aug. 3.

But New York hardly seems to have missed the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar and Luis Severino. They’re among an 11-man group still out of action, and the Yankees are cruising along at 36-19. A free agent signing like D.J. LeMahieu, an afterthought trade piece like Gio Urshela and holdovers like Gleyber Torres have plugged the gaps quite nicely.

“The way I look at it, Urshela was a top prospect with Cleveland,” Cora said. “It just didn’t happen there. Gleyber Torres, he’s a good shortstop. LeMahieu, he’s a great second baseman.”

The Indians moved on from Urshela when Jose Ramirez exploded onto the scene. He’ll enter Friday night batting .331, which is 98 points higher than at the close of his stints in the big leagues in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Torres and LeMahieu have combined for 120 hits, including 22 doubles and 19 home runs.

Cora also praised New York manager Aaron Boone for his ability to keep the club on track to this point. Boone was roasted in the local tabloids for some of his decisions while winning 100 games in his 2018 debut and bowing to Boston, 3-1, in the AL Division Series. The two former ESPN colleagues could be on another postseason collision course.

“It took a historic season for them to finish second in the division,” Cora said. “He knows what he’s doing. He was very calm last year. He dealt with adversity. He dealt with the media. It just happened that last year we won 108 games.”

Look at the rotation: The Red Sox could shuffle their starting rotation with a scheduled off day on Monday.

Chris Sale will have his start pushed back to Friday. Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello and David Price were lined up for the final three games of the series, but that’s subject to change prior to the start of Tuesday’s series at Kansas City.

“It becomes interesting as far as who skips what and all that,” Cora said. “We’ll talk about it and we’ll make a decision based on the guys.”

Boston could opt to build in an extra day off for the rotation or bypass Ryan Weber, who was hit hard in Wednesday’s 14-9 defeat against Cleveland. Weber surrendered eight hits and seven earned runs as the Red Sox dropped the series finale at Fenway Park. The Red Sox also could soon be looking to slot in Nathan Eovaldi (right elbow), who is scheduled to throw a simulated game here Friday.

Add to injured list: Right-handed pitcher Hector Velazquez (lower back strain) became the latest Boston player to hit the injured list on Thursday.

Velazquez threw two innings on Wednesday against Cleveland and was hit hard, tagged for four hits and four earned runs. His last eight outings have included a trio of spot starts, and Velazquez has been cuffed for 15 earned runs on 15 hits. His earned-run average in that span sits at an ugly 8.80.

“Yesterday there were some pitches where there were some red flags,” Cora said. “There was a slider to Francisco (Lindor) where he got the single the other way and (Velazquez’s) arm angle was somewhere else.”

Mike Shawaryn was summoned from Triple-A Pawtucket and took the final spot on the club’s 40-man roster. The right-hander posted a 3.72 ERA through 55-2/3 innings with the PawSox and has steadily made the climb through the organization since being selected out of the University of Maryland in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. How Shawaryn will be used – either as a long reliever or as a potential spot starter – is still up in the air.

“We’ll sit down and see where we’re at,” Cora said. “We’ll have a better answer by Saturday.”

Shawaryn hails from Carneys Point, a southwest New Jersey town adjacent to both the Delaware and Pennsylvania borders. It’s just shy of a three-hour drive for his family members and friends to see Shawaryn’s possible big league debut in this series.

“I’m thankful it happened to be on the East Coast and not too far from my family and friends,” Shawaryn said. “I’m sure they’ll be making the trek up here at some point during the weekend.”