Yankees: There’s a lot to digest regarding Corey Kluber’s shoulder issue

New York Yankees starter Corey Kluber walked off the mound after the second inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays and gave his shoulder a little shake. You wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t watching the game closely, though, as that was heading into a commercial break.

Something felt off. His command wasn’t as prominent as it’s been in the month of May. Then, we learned something was indeed afoot when he was removed from the game after the third inning.

Was he injured? Did manager Aaron Boone feel it wasn’t worth it to put Kluber back out there down 2-0 and 58 pitches in? What’s going on?

Shortly after, we learned Kluber was indeed dealing with an injury scare. He experienced shoulder tightness and felt it was best to come out of the game.

We don’t know exactly when we’ll have answers, but Yankees fans should know there are serious causes for concern … but also a number of other reasons to be optimistic.

Yeah, we know the latter scenario is hard given all of the unfortunate injury situations that have plagued the team since the beginning of 2018, but hear us out. Let’s start with the bad news first, though.

Yankees starter Corey Kluber is dealing with shoulder tightness. Here’s all you need to know.

OK. Well, color us shocked when we learned on Tuesday night that Kluber did NOT undergo shoulder surgery last year. Did you know that? Seriously. Did you? We were fully under the impression that Kluber went under the knife after he was shut down for a month last year.

Well, he didn’t, which kind of has us a bit more worried? He tore a muscle and went the rehab route. He clearly hasn’t been hampered so far this year up until his 10th start of the season, but conventional wisdom would suggest this is his previously non-repaired injury acting up again.

Now, for the good news.

Kluber was available to the media after the game and made it clear that the shoulder tightness he experienced on Tuesday night was different than what he felt last year when he went down for the season. Also, wouldn’t we be worrying either way if Kluber had underwent surgery last season and was experiencing shoulder issues already? Either way, we’re worrying. It’s what we do.

Additionally, it really does seem as if this is completely different from his previous ailment. He told reporters he couldn’t get loose, which was likely the cause, and that he decided to call it a night because he knew it was affecting his ability to put forth his best effort.

We get it. You probably spent your sleep fighting off cold sweats, and will continue to do so until the MRI results return. Although the Yankees are fairly banged up at the moment (what else is new?), we can at least hold out some hope because what Kluber felt in his most recent outing wasn’t comparable to his shoulder tear from 2020, coupled with the fact he simply thought it was a good decision to take himself out of the game because he felt a warning sign.

We’ll never be happier to hear about a 10-day IL stint for minor shoulder soreness.

Yankees: Corey Kluber leaves game early as injury concerns mount

New York Yankees starter Corey Kluber left Tuesday night's game early and now everyone's worried he suffered an injury against the Blue Jays.