Yankees' latest injury update on beleaguered bullpen arm will have your eyes rolling

With each passing day, the high number of "years of control" the New York Yankees possess over Scott Effross are starting to sound more like a threat than a gift.

Effross was traded over from the Chicago Cubs at the 2022 deadline in a creative deal that cost the Yankees top pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski. Since then, Wesneski has become a semi-valuable swingman who was the third piece in Houston's Kyle Tucker trade this winter. If he ever becomes something more than just an erratic slider artist, he'll be doing so for the Yankees' chief rival in Texas.

And the Yankees' side of the deal? Well, he disappeared just before the '22 playoffs, diagnosed with a torn UCL between the regular and postseason. It felt like a gut punch then, and it's only worsened in the intervening years, as a cavalcade of injuries has robbed Effross of the ability to participate in the regular season.

During the finer points of his elbow rehab, he suffered a back issue that led to surgery. He struggled to recover from those cascading issues, bouncing back and forth between the minors and the irrelevant pile last season.

And, to top it all off, he suffered a hamstring issue this spring when his prep process for the season had barely even begun. Don't expect the Yankees to have to fit him into their busy bullpen mix anytime soon, either; Aaron Boone announced Friday that he's suffered another setback, and won't be progressing any further for the time being.

New York Yankees bullpen arm Scott Effross suffers setback during his hamstring rehab

Depressingly, saying goodbye to Effross has become an annual tradition for the Yankees akin to rolling out the Opening Day bunting; since his acquisition in the summer of '22, he has yet to appear active and on an Opening Day roster.

Now, Effross is 31 years old, and hasn't logged meaningful MLB innings for three years. Last season, while desperately seeking his former rhythms, he appeared in three games, largely in garbage time, surrendering a pair of earned runs.

For a pitcher who relies mainly on finesse, and setting up his trademark sweeper with exceptional command, the receding stuff (and rust, thanks to time away from the mound) hasn't helped the case for future employment. Sadly, Friday's setback just makes him another level more ghostly, but doesn't change much.