Yankees place James Paxton on 10-day IL with left knee inflammation

Addition by subtraction, that’s the motto of the 2019 Yankees. With Miguel Andujar set to return to the 25-man roster on Saturday, pitcher James Paxton was placed on the 10-day IL with left knee inflammation.

Anyone watching Friday night’s Yankees contest versus the Twins could tell something wasn’t quite right with starter James Paxton.

In just three innings, Paxton threw 64 pitches, allowing three walks and one earned run before leaving with a left knee injury.

Come to find out, Paxton has been dealing with a lingering knee issue since Spring Training — news to us! As he told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, he and the club have been “treating and managing it.”

However, following his previous three starts (two wins) where Paxton struck out 32 batters as opposed to just four walks and three earned runs, his balky left knee caused enough discomfort to warrant concern — and an MRI took place early Saturday morning.

“I couldn’t stay on my back side long enough to keep my direction going toward the plate,” said Paxton, who issued an uncharacteristic three walks. “We’re going to get it checked out,” he said. “Hopefully it’s something quick, a quick fix so I can get back out there as soon as possible.”

Although Paxton has dealt with several injuries during his seven-year career (seven trips to the IL since 2014), knee discomfort has never been one of them.

Because the pain is in his push-off leg, thereby altering his mechanics and potentially putting more strain on his arm, it was expected that the Bombers would take a cautious approach with the 30-year-old lefty.

With a few days to name a replacement in the rotation, the Yanks could call up top pitching prospect Jonathan Loaisiga (who made two spot starts for C.C. Sabathia), or go with Jonathan Holder as an “opener.”

Holder did relieve Paxton on Friday, tossing two scoreless innings, striking out two batters on his way to picking up the win as the Yankees held on 6-3.

So here we are again, on May 4, having just lost another integral part of the team. This injury bug is looking more and more like an epidemic of mass proportions. Enough already!