Yankees end Fernando Cruz's comeback bid after refusal to 'accept' surgery

Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz has a larger-than-life personality on the mound. He's also known for peering up to the heavens and conversing with a higher power at the conclusion of innings. This is a man who doesn't confine himself to the profane reality many of us are resigned to, and he does seem to derive strength from this freedom of thought and spirit.

But Cruz's extraordinary perspective is currently faced with an particularly challenging assignment -- the idea of willing away a physical injury by denying its existence. It's for a noble cause: Cruz badly wants to pitch for his club in the postseason. The problem for Cruz is that he has a partial UCL tear. But don't expect him to admit it.

Yankees pitcher Fernando Cruz is literally refusing to acknowledge that he has a UCL tear

Cruz is proceeding with rehab work as if he's expecting to come back in October. He's thrown multiple touch and feel bullpen sessions this week, per New York Daily News' Gary Phillips. Cruz also told reporters that he refuses to "accept" that he has a UCL tear.

Unfortunately for Cruz, the valiant attempt to remain ready was dismissed by the Yankees' brass. Maybe 2027, but it's not happening this fall - Cruz was transferred to the 60-Day IL to find a 40-man spot for a pitcher who could potentially cover weekend innings, post-Wild Card clinch.

The Yankees valued what Alexander Cornielle could provide (that doesn't say Carlos Lagrange...) over the longshot of Cruz returning for October.

While the medical world classifies Cruz's ailment as a UCL tear, it's not a UCL tear in Cruz's "heart" (his words). It's merely inflammation, which gives him the chance to pitch through the pain. Inflammation also means that there's no need for surgery. Again, this is Cruz's thinking.

Indeed, Cruz told reporters that he's 100% ruling out surgery. Keep in mind that an August MRI revealed the partial UCL tear, at which point Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted that Tommy John surgery was on the table. Not surprisingly, Cruz sought a second opinion, received a cortisone shot, and continued believing.

You have to admire what Fernando Cruz is attempting for the Yankees

There's a sense here that what Cruz is doing is incredibly foolish. That's a respectable take, but it's also not distasteful to simply stand back and admire the guy's passion and spirit with all of this. Hey, maybe it's rubbed off on Aaron Judge, who appears to be doing a bit of his own injury denial in his attempts to play in the postseason. There's an unspoken willingness inside this Yankees clubhouse to put your body on the line for a title chase. It's old school, and again, maybe unwise. But it's hard not to appreciate.

Cruz's situation is made even more dramatic against the backdrop of a highly questionable (and ever shrinking) Yankees bullpen. In other words, New York could really use the ideal version Cruz, if he somehow wished away his injury and mind-over-mattered himself to postseason availability. If it could happen anywhere, it would happen in New York, the city where Willis Reed played in the NBA Finals with a broken leg! Okay, it was "just" a quadriceps tear, but still.

Cruz is risking a lot right now, and that takes guts. While he will not end up pitching again in 2026, he's definitely injected the Yankees with some awesome vibes through this stubborn refusal. That's what the playoffs are all about, aren't they? Sometimes it's more of an absolute refusal to lose than a desire to win that lands you on the mountaintop.

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