Yankees: The returning Jonathan Loaisiga could make a huge impact out of the bullpen

As the Yankees continue to wait for the returns of Luis Severino and Dellin Betances the team welcomed back Jonathan Loaisiga from the 60-day IL on Tuesday. A shoulder strain has kept the promising right-hander out of action since May 13th but now that he’s back the plan is to use him out of the bullpen where he has the chance to make a big impact.

The Yankees had high hopes for the 24-year-old Loaisiga coming into the season, especially after both Luis Severino and CC Sabathia started the season on the IL. Loaisiga was given an opportunity to take hold of a spot in the starting rotation out of camp and made three starts and four appearances before injuring his shoulder. However, he struggled before going on the IL, pitching to a 4.50 ERA in 14 IP with a 1.50 WHIP and 13 K’s.

Loaisiga never made it past the fourth inning in any of his starts mostly because his pitch count was too high. He has showcased electric stuff during his time in the big leagues over the past two seasons but it always seems like he’s nibbling around the strike zone instead of attacking hitters. He certainly has the repertoire of pitches to be a successful big league starter but injuries and his inability to go deep into games have halted his progress since his debut in June of 2018.

Because he’s been injured for most of the season the Yankees aren’t going to bring him back as a starter even though their rotation could definitely use some help. After making three rehab appearances with Triple-A Scranton, the plan according to manager Aaron Boone is to use him in long relief which is a great idea because he has the stuff to thrive in that role.

In Loaisiga’s lone appearance out of the bullpen this season on April 24th in Anaheim he had his best performance pitching three scoreless innings so hopefully there are more outings like that to come. From here on out expect the Yankees to use him for multiple innings whether that’s as an opener or as the first reliever out of the pen who follows the opener.

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If all goes well I could see Loaisiga filling a role similar to the one Chad Green has over the past three seasons. Green if you remember, also used to be a starter who struggled to put hitters away with two strikes but then became a dominant force after being moved to the bullpen full time in 2017. Even though I still think Loaisiga has a future as a starter because he has a better mix of secondary pitches, a transition to the pen for the rest of this season could do wonders for him just as it did for Green.

Based on his comments the other day it looks like Aaron Boone has high hopes for Loaisiga as well now that he’s healthy and thinks he has a chance to be a real weapon out of the pen. Per the New York Post:

"“His ceiling is very high. Obviously, [he has] an electric fastball, breaking ball, changeup, feel with three pitches. I think he has the ability to throw strikes, but that is the key. Sometimes, maybe getting a little too fine. I’ve seen in some outings where he kind of rides that pitch count up, maybe being a little too fine, but I feel like he has a chance to give us some meaningful innings out of the bullpen because his stuff can be so electric."

The key for Loaisiga, as Boone says, is throwing strikes and getting ahead in counts because his stuff is good enough to overpower hitters. He needs to stay in attack mode at all times because in relief he can just let loose for two or three innings and not worry about keeping his pitch count low in order to go deeper into the game.

It might take some time for him to adjust at first because he’s been out for so long, but once he finds his groove expect big things out of Loaisiga. He’s flown under the radar compared to the other injured Yankees returning from the IL, but down the stretch, he could end up playing a huge role heading into the postseason.

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