Yankees give (likely) phantom IL stint to worst pitcher on roster to avoid DFA

You know when players randomly "go away" for a couple weeks here and there in the middle of the summer, Yankees fans? It should be familiar by now because it happens just about every year, and it seems Brian Cashman has made his first such move in 2025.

On Sunday, New York activated Luis Gil off the injured list, which was a huge boost for the pitching staff as they look to put everything together this month and prepare for the stretch run.

In a corresponding move, however, they placed Jonathan Loaisiga — the literal worst pitcher on the roster right now — on the IL with "right mid back tightness." Yeah ... sure. Interesting timing!

We're not saying this is a bad move by the Yankees considering Loaisiga has been downright awful this year. It's actually smart because they are preserving his existence with the team, and they'll need many more innings to be eaten between now and the end of September.

But it's clear that the Yankees are strategizing here to keep as many arms around as possible. JT Brubaker is out of options, too, so if he goes, he'll have to be exposed to waivers. Right now, it wouldn't be smart for them to option Brent Headrick because he's been good.

Yankees News: Jonathan Loaisiga hits injured list with mid back tightness

So Cashman and the front office settled for some very, very specific tightness for their $5 million expenditure who has a 4.25 ERA, 5.80 FIP and 1.48 WHIP in 29 2/3 innings this year. And his performance has felt a lot worse than those numbers suggest. Truthfully, many fans were wondering if the right-hander would survive the trade deadline.

Last week, the Yankees optioned Ian Hamilton and Yerry De Los Santos to Triple-A, which helped them clear some active roster space. They're stockpiling pitchers to absorb the next inevitable injury. It's not the best depth in the world, but it's at least enough to get by (as they proved during the first half of this season).

The moral of the story here is that while Loaisiga's injury certainly could have been limiting him in some capacity, it's painfully obvious that 1) he hasn't been right since Day 1 and 2) the Yankees are not going to quit him because of the money they invested. Regardless if the injury is legitimate or an excuse to get Loaisiga sidelined for a bit, he needs it. His performance has been killing the team, and it doesn't help that Aaron Boone has no idea how to use him.

Once the Yankees get swept by the Marlins, they can start a clean slate and fans can maybe enjoy fewer bullpen meltdowns over the next couple weeks while Johnny Lasagna gets a breather.