Why Yankees may be forced to give prospect Chance Adams a shot

The Yankees’ pitching staff was in shambles following a 15-7 beatdown vs. the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. on Thursday, August 2, 2018 (8/2/18). The loss dropped the Yankees 6.5 games behind the first-place Red Sox in the American League East.

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BOSTON — The answer likely wasn’t in the clubhouse, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

It might be waiting at Triple-A.

The desperate Yankees seem poised to turn to prospect Chance Adams to start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday.

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Boone’s pitching staff was in shambles following a 15-7 beatdown vs. the Red Sox on Thursday.

After dropping Sonny Gray from the rotation earlier in the day, CC Sabathia gave the Yankees just three innings. The bullpen had to turn in the other five.

Luis Cessa, scheduled to start Saturday in place of J.A. Happ (hand, foot and throat disease), was forced to throw 3 2/3 innings as the Yankees tried to work through one of their most brutal losses of the season.

Asked if the answer to who’s starting Saturday was already on the pitching staff, Boone shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s an option right now,” he said.

“We’re starting to have those conversations now, in earnest. We’ll start considering all our options,” Boone added.

Adams seems the Yankees’ most logical starting option internally. The Yankees, of course, could go external — either swinging a trade or pulling an arm off the free agent scrap heap.

Adams is lined up to start Saturday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He started the year as Baseball America’s 81st-ranked prospect. But he’s had rough 2018, though he’s been better of late.

Adams, 23, owns a 3.07 ERA over his last six starts. He’s 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 21 starts this season — all at Triple-A.

He had offseason surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow. That sapped his fastball velocity and was a big reason he had a bad spring training. The velocity has been slowly, if inconsistently, returning.

Here’s a part of MLB.com’s scouting report on Adams, whom it ranks the No. 13 prospect in the Yankees’ organization:

After sitting at 93-95 mph with his fastball in his first two seasons as pro starter, Adams had offseason surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow and has operated at 91-93 in 2018. His slider has lost a couple of ticks of velocity as well and isn’t as sharp as it has been in the past.

Besides regaining his velocity, the key for Adams to reaching his upside as a No. 3 starter will be refining his changeup into a solid third offering. He also has a curveball that’s his fourth-best pitch yet still qualifies as average. He lives on the corners and the bottom of the strike zone, making it difficult to square him up.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.