Yankees News: Chris Capuano to Replace the Injured Chase Whitley

New York Yankees starting pitcher Chase Whitley was pulled from his start on Thursday night after facing just eight Tampa Bay Ray batters. It seemed as if Whitley was injured at some point during the game, but it’s unclear what may have caused the injury.

Unfortunately for the young right-hander, things are not looking so great. Apparently during his post-game conference, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi hinted that Whitley is dealing with a major injury in his pitching elbow. He also mentioned that Whitley has been dealing with elbow discomfort for quite a while, but kept it from the medical staff and tried to pitch through it, and as a result, it’s likely he’s now headed for Tommy John surgery.

With Whitley’s injury likely to sideline him for quite some time, skipper Joe Girardi confirmed that veteran starting pitcher Chris Capuano, who’s currently on a rehab assignment, will replace Chase Whitley in the starting rotation.

As fellow co-editor Jason Evans reported, Capuano tossed six innings and got the win for Scranton in his most recent rehab assignment start. He threw 76 pitches, gave up seven hits and two runs while striking out three.

It’s very likely that Capuano will make his first major league start as early as next week against either the Washington Nationals or the Texas Rangers.

Stay tuned for updates!

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