ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Yankees aren't rushing their decision on who will start the American League wild-card game Oct. 3 against the A's.
"I would say not close," Aaron Boone said of making a call between J.A. Happ, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. "It's something we kick around and talk about every day, but really I would say we're not close."
The Yankees came into Monday night and the start of a four-game series against the still red-hot Rays with a 1 {-game lead over the A's for homefield advantage for the wild-card game.
"Obviously, these are still really important games for us, so we're playing with that kind of urgency right now. We'll continue to have conversations and hopefully by the end of the week we're in a position to where we can kind of shape it and manipulate it how we want and make a good decision."
Severino, coming off his best start of the second half, last Wednesday against Boston when he allowed one run over seven innings, starts Tuesday against the Rays. He'll be followed by Tanaka, the club's most consistent pitcher in the second half, on Wednesday and CC Sabathia Thursday. Happ, 6-0 with a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts since joining the Yankees, is slated to start Friday, which would line him up to start the wild-card game on regular rest. Boone said not extrapolate from that.
"I think a lot of people have read too much into how Happ is set up right now," Boone said. "Happ is very much in the picture as a possibility for us. How it lines up right now isn't by design or anything. We're trying to line us up to be the most effective to try and win games this week."
Boone also said Severino pitching Tuesday doesn't take the 24-year-old out of contention for the start, even though it potentially would be made on seven days' rest.
"I would say anything's possible," Boone said. "Sevy's certainly a part of that conversation. There's a lot of ways, when you get toward the end of the week, to kind of set things up."
The manager reiterated what he's previously said regarding the Yankees' choice.
"Again, I feel like whatever decision we make is potentially a really good one," Boone said. "I feel like we're choosing from some really good options. But I wouldn't say we're close to making that decision."
In order to get his starters extra rest, on Monday Boone took a page from the Rays and A's, going with an "opener" rather than a traditional starter. That meant righty reliever Jonathan Holder getting the ball, with Sonny Gray expected to follow.
"We were kind of toying around with yesterday or today and decided today would be the day we would go with," Boone said. "Hopefully it's something we can do half as effectively as the Rays."
Boone said, however, a "bullpen game" isn't likely to be an option for the wild-card game.
"No, I don't think we'd necessarily do that," he said. "Especially with the three starters we're considering, I would expect it to be that. Anything can happen as the week unfolds and whatever, but I feel like it will probably be one of those three."
