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Jonathan Loaisiga

Yankees Notes: Judge, Trivino, Loaisiga

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9:51pm: Judge said postgame he expected to be sidelined for a few days but downplayed any significant concern (Boland link).

9:23pm: AL MVP Aaron Judge left tonight’s game in Texas in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Yankees later informed reporters that Judge was experiencing some discomfort in his right hip (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Oswaldo Cabrera came off the bench to take over right field.

The club will surely provide more on Judge’s status in the near future. At the moment, there’s nothing to suggest it was more than a precautionary move to keep the star slugger healthy. Judge has been in the starting lineup for all 26 of New York’s games. While he’s not hitting at last year’s superhuman level, the four-time All-Star has a well above-average .261/.352/.511 batting line with six home runs in 108 trips to the plate.

Elsewhere on the Yankee roster, manager Aaron Boone provided reporters with injury updates on a pair of relievers before tonight’s contest. Right-hander Lou Trivino is headed for a second opinion on his injured elbow, tweets Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Trivino hasn’t pitched this season because of an elbow sprain. The Yankees had announced early in Spring Training that he’d be out into May but that timeline was further pushed back when he recently experienced renewed soreness. The 31-year-old met with Yankees’ physician Christopher Ahmad yesterday.

Acquired from the A’s alongside Frankie Montas last summer, Trivino threw 21 2/3 innings of 1.66 ERA ball down the stretch for New York. The former Oakland closer had been quite effective from 2020-21 but was off to a rough first half to the ’22 campaign before righting the ship in the Bronx. He could be a medium to high-leverage arm in the Yankee relief corps if healthy but the mention of a second opinion for an elbow concern raises the possibility of a long-term absence.

Fellow righty Jonathan Loáisiga has been out since the second week of the season with inflammation in his throwing elbow. While it doesn’t seem there’s a ton of long-term concern there, Boone told reporters the 28-year-old was experiencing some soreness after a throwing session yesterday (via Erik Boland of Newsday). The club hasn’t provided many specifics, though it’s possible Loáisiga finds himself a little behind schedule in his rehab process as a result.

Injury Notes: Loaisiga, Peraza, Hedges, McCann

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The Yankees made a series of roster moves earlier today, one of which involved placing right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation. A pitcher going down with any sort of elbow problem is always a concern, and manager Aaron Boone spoke with reporters (including Jack Curry of the YES Network) and said Loaisiga had an MRI that did not show any structural damage.

The Yankees say Loaisiga does have some swelling in the joint though, and he won’t throw for a couple of weeks. With that in mind, even Loaisiga returns to throwing in two weeks he’ll need a bit of time to ramp up before the Yankees can call on him out of their big league bullpen, so while it doesn’t appear that this is an overly serious injury it seems Loaisiga’s stay on the IL will extend a bit beyond the minimum 15 days.

That’s a blow for a Yankees bullpen that is already without Tommy Kahnle, and has seen the usually dominant Michael King dealing with some drops in velocity. Loaisiga has been one of the best relievers in the game, and as Curry notes, owns a 1.56 ERA over his past 37 games.

Here’s some more injury notes from around the game:

  • Sticking with the Yankees, and Boone said infield prospect Oswald Peraza is dealing with a hamstring issue which is why he hasn’t played the last few games for Triple-A Scranton (via Curry). While Boone says it’s not a serious injury, it probably ruled the youngster out of being called up to the big leagues when they placed Josh Donaldson on the IL today. The team opted to instead select the contract of Willie Calhoun, but it’s also possible they’d have rather kept Peraza at Triple-A getting everyday at-bats. Peraza’s gone 7-24 with three walks and seven strikeouts over his first six games with Scranton.
  • The Pirates provided an update on catcher Austin Hedges today, with manager Derek Shelton telling reporters (including Justice delos Santos of MLB.com) that Hedges is “trending in the right direction.” The veteran catcher caught a bullpen today and will hit in the cage. Hedges was placed on the seven-day concussion list during the week. It’s still unclear if the Pirates will be comfortable activating Hedges immediately after the seven days are up. Hedges has appeared in three games so far, failing to tally a hit in nine plate appearances. In his absence, the Pirates called up Tyler Heineman to catch alongside regular backup Jason Delay.
  • Finally, the Orioles should have veteran backstop James McCann back with the team shortly, per Roch Kubatko of MASN. McCann is yet to debut for the Orioles as he works his way back from an oblique strain. McCann has been playing in an rehab assignment at High-A, and will catch there again tonight. Kubatko suggests it’s possible that McCann is activated as early as tomorrow.

Yankees Place Josh Donaldson, Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List; Recall Jhony Brito, Select Willie Calhoun

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The Yankees announced five roster moves prior to today’s game with the Orioles.  As expected, Josh Donaldson was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 6) due to a right hamstring strain and right-hander Jhony Brito was called up from Triple-A to make his scheduled start against Baltimore.  New York also placed righty Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL with a retroactive April 6 date, as Loaisiga is suffering from right elbow inflammation.  In corresponding moves, the Yankees selected Willie Calhoun’s contract from Triple-A and officially signed him to a big league deal, while Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 60-day IL to create space for Calhoun on the 40-man roster.

Any elbow issue for Loaisiga is of particular concern given that he has a Tommy John surgery in his past, but it doesn’t yet appear as though his current issue is anything more than soreness.  Shoulder problems have also hampered Loaisiga over the years, but the 28-year-old has generally been a pretty solid reliever and spot starter over his six MLB seasons (all with the Yankees).  Loaisiga has been a full-time reliever for the last three seasons, and he also become much more of a groundball specialist, posting a 60.5% grounder rate since the start of the 2021 campaign.

With an ability to generate grounders and a knack for inducing soft contact, Loaisiga has a 2.95 ERA over his last 122 innings, and he has one of the best chase rates of any pitcher in baseball despite a below-average strikeout rate.  This arsenal put Loaisiga in line for more high-leverage innings, and he was seen as perhaps the Yankees’ top set-up option for closer Clay Holmes.  Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined on the IL along with fellow relievers Lou Trivino and Kahnle, creating another vacancy in New York’s bullpen.

Kahnle was sidelined by biceps tendinitis during Spring Training, and what was initially seen as a pretty minor issue will now keep the veteran right-hander away from the MLB roster until the end of May.  Kahnle didn’t start playing catch until earlier this week, indicating that he has quite a ways to go in ramping up his arm strength and making up for the time lost in spring camp.

Calhoun brings a left-handed bat to a New York roster that is loaded with right-handed hitters, and mention of a lefty swinger joining the club merits a mention of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.  Calhoun his 21 home runs with the Rangers in 2019, but has otherwise only gone yard 11 times over his five other MLB seasons with Texas and San Francisco.  For his career as a whole, Calhoun has hit .240/.299/.404 in 936 plate appearances.

Once a top prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system, Calhoun’s solid 2019 campaign was undone by injury-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, and he was openly hoping for a trade away from the Rangers after being sent down to Triple-A early in the 2022 season.  He didn’t receive much of a look from the Giants at the MLB level following a June trade, but he’ll now get another chance in the Bronx.

Playing mostly as a left fielder during his MLB career, Calhoun looks to join Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks in the corner outfield position.  Cabrera might get some infield time with Donaldson on the IL, though New York has third base pretty well covered with DJ LeMahieu getting most of the starting time and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also available to back up.  Calhoun’s addition might further reduce Hicks’ playing time, as Hicks already hasn’t seen much action over the Yankees’ first seven games.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

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The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Yankees Place Luis Severino On 15-Day IL, Select Ryan Weber

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The Yankees announced they’ve placed starter Luis Severino on the 15-day injured list due to a low-grade strain of his right lat. Righty Ryan Weber was selected onto the big league club in his place. New York also reinstated reliever Jonathan Loáisiga from the 15-day IL, optioning JP Sears to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night to clear a roster spot. New York already had a 40-man roster vacancy after designating Weber for assignment last week, a job he’ll now reassume.

Severino left last night’s start against the Reds with shoulder tightness. He’d dealt with slightly diminished velocity and was sent for an MRI this morning. That revealed some degree of injury to his lat, though the Yankees’ specification that it’s a low-grade strain is seemingly a positive development. New York hasn’t provided any specifics on a timetable for his return, but he’ll at least miss a start or two coming out of the All-Star Break.

It’s the first time all season the Yankees are dealing with an injury to one of their top five starters. Severino had joined Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon in staying healthy to this point. Depth starter Luis Gil was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, but New York seems likely to welcome back Domingo Germán coming out of the Break. Out all season due to shoulder concerns, Germán has been on a minor league rehab assignment for the past few weeks. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Lindsey Adler of the Athletic) the righty will make another start with Scranton tomorrow, but he could be in consideration for activation not long thereafter.

Weber rejoins the active roster as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. The journeyman has been on and off the roster a couple times, twice soaking up some frames of relief but being DFA quickly thereafter. Weber has spent the majority of the year with the RailRiders, pitching to a 2.55 ERA through 24 2/3 innings. He has a modest 18.8% strikeout rate in the minors, but he’s walked only one of 101 batters faced while inducing ground-balls at a solid 47.4% clip. That’s also been the general trend over Weber’s parts of eight seasons in the majors — excellent control and a fair number of grounders but below-average velocity and whiff rates.

Yankees Place Giancarlo Stanton On Injured List

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9:30pm: While the team announced Stanton’s injury as a calf strain, Boone told reporters tonight that the former NL MVP is actually dealing with ankle inflammation (via Lindsey Adler of the Athletic). The hope is that Stanton can return after a minimal IL stay.

5:47pm: The Yankees announced a series of moves before tonight’s matchup with the Orioles. Most notably, designated hitter/right fielder Giancarlo Stanton is headed to the 10-day injured list because of a right calf strain. New York also placed reliever Jonathan Loáisiga on the 15-day IL and designated catcher Rob Brantly for assignment. In corresponding moves, the Yankees welcomed Joey Gallo back from the COVID-19 injured list. They also recalled relievers JP Sears and David McKay from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Stanton has been one of the best hitters for the AL-leading Yankees. He’s mashing at a .285/.339/.523 clip, and his 11 home runs tie him for fifth in MLB. The big slugger has a personal-low 8.3% walk rate, but he’s doing more than enough damage on contact to offset the corresponding drop in his on-base percentage. Stanton has been an instrumental piece of a lineup that has been among the league’s best. Aaron Judge is playing at an MVP-type pace through the season’s first month and a half, with Stanton and Anthony Rizzo also offering middle-of-the-order caliber production.

Unfortunately, Stanton is also no stranger to the injured list. He’s landed on the IL because of leg issues in each of the past four years. Stanton missed a significant chunk of the 2019 campaign because of a right knee sprain, then lost more than half of the shortened 2020 season with a left hamstring strain. The 32-year-old had a more minor IL stint due to a left quad strain last year, and he’ll obviously miss some time with his current malady. A timetable remains unclear, but manager Aaron Boone informed reporters last night (via Joel Sherman of the New York Post) that he was headed for an MRI after leaving yesterday’s game with calf tightness.

The Yankees have been hit hard by injuries in recent days. New York lost pitchers Chad Green and Luis Gil to Tommy John procedures over the weekend. Closer Aroldis Chapman hit the IL with Achilles tendinitis yesterday, and Boone told reporters this afternoon that Loáisiga was going on the IL with shoulder discomfort. The team’s official diagnosis for Loáisiga is shoulder inflammation.

New York welcomes Gallo back to the lineup a few days after he landed on the virus list. The power-hitting outfielder hit the IL on Sunday as part of a trio of Yankees suffering flu-like symptoms, but he and Kyle Higashioka have returned quickly. Gallo is capable of suiting up in either corner outfield spot but is struggling this season, owning just a .176/.294/.333 line through 119 plate appearances.

Brantly was selected onto the 40-man roster once Higashioka went out to offer some catching depth behind Jose Trevino. With Higahioka now back, Brantly loses his roster spot after appearing in one game. The 32-year-old has seen brief action at the big league level in each of the last four years, but he’s not tallied more than 40 MLB plate appearances in a season since 2013. He’ll have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Yankees To Place Jonathan Loaisiga On IL Due To Shoulder Discomfort

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Yankees right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga is being placed on the injured list due to shoulder discomfort, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler).  A corresponding roster move hasn’t yet been announced in advance of New York’s game with the Orioles tonight.

It has been a tough year for Loaisiga, who has a 7.02 ERA through 16 2/3 innings out of New York’s bullpen.  While his SIERA (3.91) and xFIP (3.86) are a lot more favorable, Loaisiga hasn’t helped his cause with a 13.7% walk rate or three home runs allowed in his small sample size of playing time.

Homers and walks also hampered Loaisiga earlier in his Major League career, but the reliever got it all together during a superb 2021 season.  The righty posted a 2.17 ERA over 70 2/3 innings last year, standing out as arguably the best pitcher of an overall strong Yankees relief corps.  While his 24.4% strikeout rate in 2021 was nothing special, Loaisiga displayed excellent control (5.7% walk rate), a 60.9% grounder rate, and he surrendered only three home runs during the entirety of the season.

After going virtually injury-free over the first month of the 2022 campaign, the Yankees have recently been hit with some notable losses over the last week, particularly in the bullpen.  Aroldis Chapman is on the 15-day IL due to left Achilles tendinitis, while Chad Green has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.  (Depth starter Luis Gil also underwent a TJ procedure, further depleting the pitching depth.)

The Yankees still have plenty of quality arms in their bullpen, but they’ll need some pitchers to step up with their closer and two top set-up options out of action.

Yankees Option Andrew Heaney

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The Yankees announced they’ve reinstated Jonathan Loáisiga from the 10-day injured list. To open space on the active roster, New York optioned Andrew Heaney to their rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.

This surely isn’t the result New York envisioned when they acquired Heaney just before this summer’s trade deadline. Heaney owned just a 5.27 ERA at the time, but the Yankees bet that his high-end strikeout and walk rates (28.2% and 7.7%, respectively) would translate into stronger future results.

That hasn’t yet proven to be the case. Heaney was installed into the Yankees’ rotation over the first month after the trade, but he was tagged for 18 runs in 26 innings, largely thanks to a staggering nine home runs allowed. New York moved him into the bullpen after that rough start, but he’s been even less effective in that new role. Over seven relief outings, the southpaw has served up eleven runs in 9 2/3 frames, including four more long balls. Heaney has actually continued to post decent strikeout and walk numbers in pinstripes, but he’s been so homer-prone that hasn’t mattered.

It’s an especially inopportune time for Heaney to post arguably the worst season of his career. He’ll hit free agency for the first time this winter, coming off a campaign in which he’s tossed 129 2/3 innings of 5.83 ERA ball between Anaheim and the Bronx. He’ll present a rather difficult evaluation for teams. Because of his strong strikeout and walk rates, Heaney’s SIERA remains quite good (3.83). Of the 122 pitchers with 100+ innings, only four have a worse home run rate than Heaney’s 2.01 HR/9, though, and his second half struggles became significant enough the Yankees have bumped him from the active roster for a few of their most important games of the year.

Heaney has more than five years of major league service time, meaning he could not be optioned without consenting to a minor league assignment. Presumably, the Yankees offered him the choice of agreeing to the option or being designated for assignment (which almost certainly would’ve resulted in him being released). Rather than refuse the assignment and be cut from the organization altogether, he’ll head to the complex in hopes of straightening things out. He remains on the 40-man roster and could still be a depth option should the Yankees qualify for the postseason.

Loáisiga will try to help the Yankees get to the playoffs, as he returns after a three-week absence due to a shoulder strain. He has been among the club’s most effective relievers this season, tossing 68 frames of 2.25 ERA ball. The Yankees have reeled off seven consecutive wins to put themselves in great position to land a spot in the AL Wild Card game, but they’ll need to at least take a game or two in their final couple series with the Blue Jays and Rays to feel completely comfortable about their chances of nailing that berth down.

Injury Notes: Cousins, Andrus, Loaisiga, Taillon, Cisnero

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The Brewers placed righty Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list due to a right biceps strain, as right-hander Miguel Sanchez was called up from Triple-A to take Cousins’ spot on the active roster.  Speaking with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters, Brewers GM Matt Arnold described Cousins’ injury as “nothing major,” adding that “We just want to be careful.  It’s that time of year where we want to make sure he’s available in a playoff capacity.”

Considering that Cousins didn’t even make his MLB debut until June 21, his status as a potential postseason weapon is a sign of how well he has performed during his rookie season.  Cousins has a 2.70 ERA over 30 relief innings, along with an eye-popping 35.2% strikeout rate — not far off his minor league numbers since joining the Milwaukee organization in 2019.  While Cousins’ control hasn’t been nearly as impressive (15.2% walk rate), opponents haven’t been able to take much advantage, as Cousins has been carving up batters with his wipeout slider.

More on other injury situations around baseball…

  • While scoring the game-winning run in the Athletics’ 2-1 walkoff win over the Astros today, Elvis Andrus suffered a left ankle injury and had to be helped off the field.  A’s manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reporters that Andrus is getting x-rays after “feeling a pop” in his ankle.  More will be known after Andrus has been tested, but it certainly looks like the 33-year-old’s season could be over, as the shortstop could be facing a serious injury.  It has been a tough year overall for Andrus, as he has hit only .243/.294/.320 over 541 plate appearances in his first season in Oakland.
  • The Yankees could have Jonathan Loaisiga and Jameson Taillon back from the injured list during the club’s upcoming series against the Blue Jays, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera and Newsday’s Erik Boland).  Loaisiga was sidelined on September 5 with a strained right rotator cuff, but the reliever has already thrown one bullpen session and will throw another soon, Boone said.  Taillon has missed close to the game amount of time with an ankle injury, though he has been on a minor league rehab assignment and threw a bullpen today.
  • Jose Cisnero’s IL stint has lasted beyond the minimum 10 days, and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that while Cisnero hasn’t yet been shut down, a return this season is “improbable.”  Cisnero has been hampered by swelling around the right elbow laceration that first sent him to the injured list back on September 14.  If this is it for the right-hander in 2021, Cisnero will finish with a 3.65 ERA over 61 2/3 innings, marking his third consecutive year of solid work out of Detroit’s bullpen.

Yankees Place Jonathan Loaisiga On IL With Strained Rotator Cuff

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The Yankees are placing righty Jonathan Loaisiga on the IL with a right shoulder strain, per a team announcement. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the strain is in Loaisiga’s rotator cuff and he won’t throw for at least 10 days. (Twitter links) Fellow right-handed Albert Abreu has been recalled to take Loaisiga’s place on the roster.

This is very unfortunate news for both Loaisiga and the team, as the righty is having the best season of his career so far and has been one of the most valuable pitchers on the team. Through 68 innings out of the Yankees’ bullpen this year, he has an ERA of 2.25. His 24.2% strikeout rate is actually close to league average, but his 5.5% walk rate and 61.3% groundball rate are both excellent. On the season, he’s been worth 2.2 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, third-most among Yankees pitchers, behind Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery, and tied with Josh Hader for the most among all relievers in baseball.

It’s unclear exactly how much time he will miss, but with less than a month left in the season, there’s not a lot of wiggle room remaining. If he is to miss “at least” 10 days, that means the best-case scenario would see him start throwing again September 15th. At that point, he would presumably have to throw a bullpen or two to assess his health and perhaps go on a rehab assignment before returning to the big-league club.

The Yankees are 7 1/2 games behind the Rays in the AL East but are currently holding the first AL Wild Card spot, half a game ahead of the Red Sox and 4 1/2 ahead of the Athletics and Mariners.

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