The Yankees‘ bullpen has been excellent to open the 2024 season, ranking fourth in the MLB with a 1.27 ERA. They rank second with five saves and have been efficient against the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks to open the first two series of the season.
Ian Hamilton has been a godsend for a team that is still waiting on Scott Effross, Lou Trivino, and Tommy Kahnle to return from injury. Effross and Trivino will make a return around the trade deadline this upcoming summer. Kahnle was recently set back after struggling to rebound from a live pitching session.
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The Yankees Lose Jonathan Loaisiga
However, the Yankees announced on Friday morning that Jonathan Loaisiga was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain. This means that Loaisiga will likely miss until June, at the very least.
The 29-year-old has been extremely injury-prone over the last few years, tossing just 17.2 innings in 2023. The last time he threw over 50 innings was in 2021 when he maxed out at 70.2.
Over three appearances to start the year, he didn’t give a single run and hosted a 56.3% ground ball rate. This is a massive hit to the bullpen since the Yankees plan to utilize him as a long-inning relief pitcher, trying to maintain his health and give him more work in shorter bunches.
At this point, it is safe to say that Loaisiga is just an injury waiting to happen rather than a consistent player who’s suffering a stretch of bad luck.
To replace Loaisiga, the Yankees called up Dennis Santana, a 27-year-old who pitched 10.2 innings for the Mets last year. This spring, Santana posted a 2.79 ERA over 9.2 innings with the Yankees, enjoying 12.10 strikeouts per nine and an 86.2% left-on-base rate and 46.2% ground ball rate.
Fortunately, the bullpen remains strong, but the loss of the Loaisiga is a big hit, and the team will have to supplement until his return over the summer.