When the New York Yankees learned that Jonathan Loaisiga had suffered a serious injury to his forearm, they knew to prepare for the worst, and those fears have now come true.
The right-hander, who was placed on the 60-day injured list due to a right flexor strain, will have surgery that will keep him out of action for the next 10 to 12 months and prevent him from making a comeback in 2024. The hard-throwing right-hander felt discomfort in his elbow after pitching four scoreless innings in the season’s opening games in Houston and Arizona. Further tests indicated severe damage to his forearm.
The feared Tommy John Surgery comes to mind when you hear about a flexor strain and see a player placed on the 60-day injured list. Meredith Marakovits hasn’t disclosed the specifics of the procedure, but the timeline suggests it’s some sort of elbow reconstructive surgery.
Yankees Lose Another Bullpen Arm, Jonathan Loaisiga Out for the Season
It hurts to lose Jonathan Loaisiga because the Yankees were hoping to use him in a multi-inning relief role to take pressure off his arm, but instead he ends up out for the season. A damaged UCL is unavoidable; even if the tendon is intact one day, it could tear and keep you out of baseball for more than a year.
The hard-throwing right-hander’s long-term future is complicated by the fact that he is a free agent after the season, which could mean the end of his time in the Bronx.
The Yankees have shown a disinclination to compensate relievers, and it is difficult to think that they would pay top price for an arm that has experienced elbow issues on a regular basis over the previous few seasons.
Loaisiga has pitched just 22.2 innings since the 2023 season began, making appearances in 20 games but having difficulty sustaining his mound presence.
Although there is no denying his effectiveness—few pitchers are as adept at producing groundballs as he is—a 2.49 ERA isn’t as useful when you can’t pitch frequently enough.
One of the most gifted pitchers in any bullpen, the right-hander has always had outstanding velocity and a wide variety of pitches, so it’s a tragic injury. Unfortunately, this injury puts a premature end to his season and presents an intriguing situation for the Yankees.
In order to replace Loaisiga, they summoned up Dennis Santana, but the lack of a multi-inning weapon capable of keeping the ball on the ground and effectively putting hitters away in high-leverage situations weakens their bridge to the ninth inning.
Since he first showed promise back in 2021, the Yankees have placed a great deal of faith in him, but this might be the final straw for him to stay in New York.
