When the New York Yankees signed Adam Warren to a minor league deal with a spring invitation last December, they envisioned him as a potential contributor in the bullpen after the top guys, but he had to show first he was A) fully healthy, and B) still an effective reliever after dealing with some injuries in the last couple of years.
Spring training started and Warren reported to the Yankees trying to win a spot in a deep bullpen, but he was one of the first cuts, announced a few days ago, and now, he’s back dealing with a physical ailment.
Warren, according to Anthony Rieber, has been shut down 4-5 days ago with a sore shoulder. Everybody knows, including the Yankees, that shoulder injuries need not to be taken lightly, especially for pitchers.
A tough break for the Yankees’ righty
The injury is certainly a tough break for the veteran right-hander, who didn’t pitch at all during the 2020 season as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery.
So far, he had thrown three scoreless innings with the New York Yankees in Grapefruit league action, but making the bullpen was going to be an uphill battle anyway because the team has incredible depth at the position and a couple of (healthy) spring training standouts in Nick Nelson and Lucas Luetge.
Warren, nevertheless, was performing more than adequately, as he had retired nine of the ten batters he faced so far.
As NBC Sports Edge notes, this latest setback will likely take Warren out of consideration for a bullpen spot with the Yankees for Opening Day.
Aroldis Chapman will operate as the Yankees’ closer, while Darren O’Day, Justin Wilson, and Chad Green handle setup duties. Luis Cessa and Jonathan Loaisiga will likely be on the roster, too, and manager Aaron Boone recently said that he likes Nick Nelson as a potential multi-inning weapon.