Latest Tommy Kahnle update proves Yankees were doomed by bad timing

Tommy Kahnle’s untimely injury hurt the Yankees in more ways than one.

If Tommy Kahnle doesn’t suffer a season-ending (and 2021 campaign-ending) elbow injury during the first series of the year against the Washington Nationals in late July, the New York Yankees could’ve very well been in the World Series. After all, their lack of reliable bullpen arms was among the paramount factors that doomed them in the ALDS.

Perhaps more importantly and less speculatively, if Kahnle doesn’t suffer the worst elbow injury possible for a pitcher, the New York Yankees would have kept him for one more full year before he officially became a free agent, and they wouldn’t be worried right now about having to upgrade their bullpen during a global pandemic.

Unfortunately, the Yankees had no choice but to cut Kahnle loose because paying someone millions just to rehab for the entire season isn’t really in the cards with everything that’s going on. But that means someone else will capitalize on getting the right-hander under contract, which is what we’re already seeing.

It’s definitely possible the Yankees are one of those teams, but if he’s weighing multiple offers, does he really have an incentive to sign with the team that just let him go to save money? Maybe. It happens across the league, but we’re not going to bank on it.

You also have to think teams that have a bigger budget offered him a little bit more money in order to coax him to sign. The Yankees do offer Kahnle a favorable situation, but they definitely don’t have cash to throw around thanks to their self-imposed budget, and other clubs looking ahead to 2022 could have the upper hand.

The Yankees need reinforcements now. They can’t wait. The 2021 and 2022 seasons are the prime window. And they need everyone who is under contract for those two campaigns atop their game. Unfortunately, Kahnle doesn’t fit that bill, and even late ’21 could be optimistic for the rehabbing righty.

Yankees fans can chalk this up as another untimely situation that they can do nothing to amend. We think you know plenty of those. Do we need to go through any more of them? Nah, we’ll spare you the stress.

Nonetheless, we hope Kahnle lands on his feet and rebounds as quickly as possible, wherever it may be.

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