Alexander Wilson
There is a version of Jonathan Loaisiga that New York Yankees fans remember fondly, and it is not the pitcher who left the Bronx last fall.
Back in 2021, Loaisiga was genuinely one of the best relievers in baseball. Across 70.2 innings, he posted a 2.17 ERA with a 98.1 mph average fastball, 0.38 HR/9, and a 79.1% left-on-base rate. He was the kind of arm that closed out innings before opposing lineups could blink. The Yanks had something real there. Then the injuries came, and they never fully left.
What Happened After the Peak
The decline was gradual at first and then hard to ignore. His strikeout rate fell from elite to ordinary, his home run rate climbed, and the fastball that once averaged 98 mph started losing its teeth. By 2025, Loaisiga was throwing 96.7 mph on average across 29.2 innings, posting a 4.25 ERA with a 25.9% HR/FB rate that tells you hitters were doing real damage when they made contact. The 2.12 HR/9 rate was alarming for a power reliever whose entire game is built around not allowing barrels.
The Yankees gave him a one-year deal in 2025 that included a team opt-in for 2026. They declined it. Given what they saw, that was the right call. The command was volatile, the performance was inconsistent, and there were younger arms with higher ceilings pushing for bullpen spots. Loaisiga was a sunk cost they chose not to sink further.
Finding a Home in Arizona
He landed with the Arizona Diamondbacks this spring and earned a spot on their Opening Day roster. In seven innings across seven appearances, he posted a 3.86 ERA with a 9.00 K/9, a 2.57 BB/9, and a 0.00 HR/9. The strikeout rate is encouraging, the walks are manageable, and he did not give up a single home run all spring. Whether that holds against major league lineups is a different question, but it was enough for the D-backs to hand him a bullpen spot.
I genuinely hope he figures it out. When Loaisiga was right, he was the kind of pitcher who changed a game in a single inning. That arm has not completely disappeared. The question has always been whether his body can hold up long enough for the talent to show itself consistently.
The Yankees had to move on, and they did. That is just the business side of this sport, even when it involves players the fanbase rooted for.
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