Yankees can't escape injury nightmare with former coveted Brian Cashman trade target

Back in 2022, the New York Yankees had one of the most bizarre trade deadlines in recent memory. They shipped Jordan Montgomery out of town for Harrison Bader, who arrived in a walking boot. They finally got rid of Joey Gallo after he overstayed his welcome by ... the entire duration of his stay. Andrew Benintendi and Frankie Montas were acquired, but both succumbed to injuries almost immediately.

Then there was the Hayden Wesneski-for-Scott Effross swap that snuck in there. At the time, Wesneski was one of the Yankees' top pitching prospects while Effross had 61 games of MLB experience as a 28-year-old.

The Yankees needed bullpen help, yes, but Effross was hardly the answer given his tiny sample size. And many believed there was a better way to utilize Wesneski as an asset. It appears the fans were right in this particular instance.

Since coming to New York, Effross has pitched in 15 games over 2.5 seasons. He suffered an elbow injury at the end of 2022 that required Tommy John surgery. Then, heading into the 2024 season, he underwent back surgery in what was an offseason surprise. Over the course of his recovery, he ran into countless setbacks that prevented him from pitching consistently.

And the setbacks keep on coming. Having pitched in THREE total games since the start of the 2023 season, Effross suffered another injury. He left Tuesday's game against the Twins just as quickly as he entered. Hey, at least he got one inning under his belt this spring.

Yankees Injury Update: Scott Effross is down again with hamstring issue

Cashman was said to have valued the years of control Effross came with when he was acquired from the Cubs. He cannot become a free agent until after the 2028 season. But he also cannot do anything, so how valuable could the team control possibly be?

Even though Effross represents a minuscule cost when all is said and done, it's the mere distraction of his projections that is a problem for the Yankees. Every year this front office bakes in imaginary contributions from oft-injured players (or guys who have yet to even prove themselves) to their season totals, only to see it all fall apart right in front of them. Effross was being counted on to return midway through 2024 to help prop up a thin bullpen, and he logged just three games before going back on the IL.

Fans would like to think the Yankees would learn their lesson with history repeating itself over and over and over again, but they just gave Jonathan Loaisiga $5 million to hang out on the 60-day injured list to start the year. Seems like it'll be more of the same on this front in 2025.