LAKELAND, Fla. -- Gerrit Cole¡¯s absence at the top of the rotation has created numerous issues for the Yankees, not the least of which is the identity of their Opening Day starter two weeks from now.

It won¡¯t be Marcus Stroman, who was offered the chance before general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone agreed it was too problematic to disrupt the schedule and place Stroman on turn for March 28 against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

And it won¡¯t be Carlos Rod¨®n, who has been promised the second start of the year on March 29. So the Yankees must scramble, with their remaining in-house choices between Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt or (gasp!) an Opening Day bullpen game.

¡°I¡¯ve decided who is starting,¡± Boone said Thursday after the Yankees¡¯ 7-0 loss to the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. ¡°I just want to let a few more days come off the clock. A lot can happen still.¡±

Cortes and Schmidt are both scheduled to pitch on Friday, with Cortes going in a simulated game before Schmidt faces the Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Hypothetically, either pitcher could be given additional rest to line up for the March 28 opener.

That held little appeal for Stroman, who will keep his assignment of the season¡¯s third game on March 30.

¡°I think they thought that I was going to be like, ¡®Hey, let me get it,¡¯¡± Stroman said. ¡°That¡¯s not my nature, man. It doesn¡¯t matter to me. I¡¯m confident in whoever goes out there from this squad to get the job done. At the end of the day, it¡¯s just another game. I¡¯m not someone who is going to be upset if I don¡¯t get the Opening Day nod.

¡°I¡¯m trying to go out there for 30-plus starts. That¡¯s the goal for me. I have confidence in anybody we throw out there for Opening Day. At this point, it¡¯s too hard to get on schedule and on track. They came to me, but like I said, they agreed and I agreed also that it was probably best to stay on the schedule we came up with.¡±

In Thursday¡¯s outing against the Tigers, Stroman was clipped for five runs (four earned) and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings, including a Kerry Carpenter solo home run in the second inning.

He walked three and struck out four, summarizing his 68-pitch outing as one that ¡°checked the box in the right direction.¡±

That road map should lead Stroman to two more spring outings, a regular-season game in Houston and a big one in the Bronx.

For Stroman, who made two Opening Day starts for the Blue Jays (2016 and 2019), pitching in pinstripes holds more appeal than a road opener. The Medford, N.Y., product is on line to draw the assignment for the Yankees¡¯ home opener on April 5 against the Blue Jays.

¡°I put a priority on my body,¡± Stroman said. ¡°People don¡¯t understand how much [is involved with] changing your schedule at this point of spring. It might seem like it¡¯s easy, like, ¡®Oh, you can do that.¡¯ But every little day matters. It changes the schedule; I might have to go to a seven-day, a five-day, the recovery. It changes the month.

¡°So being on the roster for Opening Day is enough. To pitch the Yankees' home opener, that¡¯s going to be pretty exhilarating for me. I can¡¯t wait for that one.¡±