This Yankees pitcher’s injury could be a bigger blow than you think

While the Yankees have suffered their fair share of injuries this year, they have not been decimated like some teams have been (fingers crossed). Besides the season-ending injury to Gerrit Cole and the long time absence of the now-returned Giancarlo Stanton, not many key players have hit the injured list. Recently, however, two of the Yankees' most underrated pitchers have reversed that trend somewhat by going down at an inopportune time.

Ryan Yarbrough and Yerry De Los Santos have both hit the 15-Day IL, with the former suffering an oblique strain and the latter dealing with elbow discomfort.

We all know the impact Yarbrough has had on the rotation, magnificently filling in a role no one expected he would have to shoulder at the start of the season. Additionally, De Los Santos has proven himself just as valuable to the team, becoming an extremely reliable long-relief man.

He especially proved himself in the weeks leading up to his injury, as he was heavily relied upon during a long stretch with no off days. He did not surrender a single run over his last five appearances, a span where he pitched nine innings. 

His numbers on the season as a whole are also very strong for a relative unknown, as he has an ERA of 1.80 throughout 14 appearances and 20 innings of work. 

Yankees' loss of Yerry De Los Santos could come back to bite them

Despite his low ERA, De Los Santos' WHIP is quite elevated at 1.70, a number mainly attributed to his rather high walk rate. Even though he doesn't strike out many batters, what the 27-year old has shown is an elite ability to limit hard contact and keep the ball on the ground with his sinker-slider combo.

He is clearly not one of Aaron Boone’s high-leverage arms, but a guy like De Los Santos, who can eat multiple innings in any situation, is invaluable to any bullpen down the stretch. 

JT Brubaker, who pitched well in the minors this year after a bizarre injury in spring training, was called up to fill the vacancy left by De Los Santos. The former Pirate has fired three scoreless frames across two innings for the Yankees so far, an impressive start for a guy who has not stepped on a big-league mound since 2022. 

While I do have faith in Brubaker to be a serviceable arm who can eat up some innings, I was really starting to feel confident whenever De Los Santos took the mound. The Yankees need all the bullpen arms they can get, as Jake Cousins, who was on a rehab assignment and nearing a return to the Yankees, recently underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery. 

The phrasing of De Los Santos' injury should give fans some confidence, as elbow “discomfort” usually means that the IL placement is precautionary and meant to ensure something worse doesn't develop after the initial inflammation. Anything involved with the elbow is scary, but we will see where De Los Santos ends up after his stint on the 15-Day IL is up. 

Hopefully, it's right back to the Yankees’ bullpen, but that has yet to be determined.