NEW YORK -- There were some goodbyes being said in the quiet Yankees clubhouse following Friday night's 7-5 Subway Series loss to the Mets, most notably ace Luis Severino's to rookie pitcher Domingo German, which began with a bearhug and then a pep talk.
German's bad July continued in the Yankees' first game back from the All-Star break, and this ugly four-run, 3 2/3-inning start led to an immediate post-game option back to Triple-A.
This move isn't surprising at all, as the righty's 2-6 record and 5.88 ERA are worse than Sonny Gray's poor stats.
German's replacement isn't a shocker either. It'l be righty Luis Cessa, who has been red hot in Triple-A this month and two Mondays ago came up to start Game 2 of a doubleheader in Baltimore and tossed six shutout innings in a Yankees' win.
But with the Red Sox' lead now up to 5 1/2 games in the AL East and the second-place Yankees striking out so far in their hunt to add an impactful starting pitcher before the fast-approaching July 31 trade deadline, we ask this question:
Why not roll the dice and make a more exciting call-up until that second ace comes?
If that second aces comes.
Why pass again on giving a first big-league shot to 22-year-old left-hander Justus Sheffield, the Yankees' No. 1 pitching prospect?
While Cessa earned this opportunity, which seems like his umpteenth since 2016, Sheffield has been consistently good all season long, early on for Double-A Trenton and then from May on pitching in Triple-A.
His stats are impressive, as Sheffield has a 2.53 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts and a 2-0 record with two runs allowed over 18 1/3 innings in his last three outings.
So why not take a shot at adding an ace right now? Sheffield, after all, definitely has a much-higher ceiling than Cessa, whose previous small stretches of success always also were followed by struggles and/or injuries.
Here's what Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when we asked what Sheffield needs to do to be called up:
"I think just continued development in talking with player development and the front office in their evaluation of things. He's certainly a guy that's more and more in the conversation, but I think they want him to just kind of get finished off down there and fine tune some things."
That sounds promising, but Sheffield potentially could be a top-of-the-rotation difference maker ASAP while Cessa at his best is a bottom-of-the-rotation guy.
For now though, it'll be Cessa, who solidified his return Friday night by pitching a two-hitter over six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 5-1 win in Columbus.
Actually, the Yankees will call up a reliever for Saturday's game to replace German and he'll stay with the club through Tuesday, then Cessa will return to start Wednesday night's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
As for German, he'll head back to Triple-A to try to get himself straightened out. As good as he looked pitching six no-hit against Cleveland in his first big-league start on May 6, he's been putting the Yankees in early deficits time and again throughout his 2 1/2-month run as a replacement starter for Jordan Montgomery, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
On Friday night, the Mets scored three first-inning runs off German and led 4-1 when he was pulled with two outs in the fourth.
"I think he's really struggling just mechanically," Boone said. "It's led to him really struggling with his fastball command ... and if you don't have that, you're going to be in trouble."
German has a 6.68 ERA in his outings since that great showing against Cleveland, 12 starts and one relief outing, so something had to be done.
And something was done with German being farmed out.
"Definitely it's not what you want," German said. "I want to pitch up here. At the same time, I understand why. I've got to go down to Triple-A and work on certain things that I need to improve and help me get back on track.
"It's minor adjustments I need to make in my mechanics. I've going to go down there and work really hard and try to get back as soon as possible."
All the while, Sheffield probably will be pushing hard for a first chance with the Yankees that figures to come in the next few weeks.
"He's had a very successful season," Boone said. "I think he's gotten better and I think he's very close to being an option."
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.