Yankees announce key reliever's Tommy John surgery, other pitcher stays in limbo

On Monday afternoon, with New York Yankees fans expecting Giancarlo Stanton's arrival, they received a second surprise: rehabbing pitcher JT Brubaker showed up with a locker in the Bronx.

Did this mean an injury bombshell was about to drop? Well, yes and no ...

The Yankees uncovered Jake Cousins in 2024, throwing him into the fire after a summer waiver claim and watching him harness his ridiculous stuff (53 Ks in 38 innings) if not his control (20 walks). He didn't have the greatest World Series of his life (allowing two runners in extra innings in LA to set the stage for Freddie Freeman's heroics in Game 1), but still entered 2025 as an integral part of a Yankees bullpen that could've used some setup help. Instead, Cousins suffered an elbow injury in the spring, then largely disappeared.

According to Meredith Marakovits, Cousins will undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday after seeking a series of second opinions. His season is over - as is next season before it begins, in all likelihood.

So ... is that why Brubaker is in the Bronx? Not exactly...

Yankees' Jake Cousins to undergo Tommy John surgery, but JT Brubaker continues awaiting activation

According to Boone, the Yankees are still weighing their options with Brubaker, whose rehab assignment will expire soon. That means he'll require either activation or a DFA, at which point he'd be exposed to waivers. That would represent a year and a half of the Yankees' hard work being undone without a big-league reward. That'd be somewhat unfathomable.

The Yankees have some shuffling to do to accommodate Brubaker, but after promoting Scott Effross to soak up some innings last week, they can make it happen. But they'll have to do so soon; the 31-year-old Brubaker has a 2.95 ERA in 21 1/3 minor-league innings this season across six outings. His first appearance came on May 18, and the Yankees have 30 days from that activation to make a final decision.

It seems safe to expect Brubaker to be activated, but the Yankees would like an up-close look first. Maybe he'll factor into the mix that Cousins was sadly unable to get involved in this summer.