Yankees' subtle Carlos Lagrange injury update has fans fearing the worst

UPDATE: Lagrange has a shoulder injury, and will receive an MRI to determine the extent of the damage. No matter the result, his arrival timeline has assuredly been knocked off course.

The New York Yankees forgot to fix their bullpen during the offseason (oops!), creating the need for a total summer reconstruction. The hope was that some of that solution would come internally, with the promotions of Yovanny Cruz and top prospect Carlos Lagrange, recently converted to a reliever midseason.

But, see ... the problem with not accruing proper depth is ... if one thing goes awry, the whole house of cards collapses.

Lagrange, fresh off one of his very first attempts at a traditional relief appearance without being carefully coddled, was placed on the 7-day Injured List by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Thursday afternoon.

What is the "7-day Injured List," you might ask? Great question. We have no idea. No one does. And they don't want us to.

Why is the Yankees' minor-league "7-day Injured List" such a big deal for Carlos Lagrange?

The issue with the 7-day IL is that it allows minor-league teams to treat prospects like NHL players. The league is under no obligation to disclose what the injury actually is. They can tell you if they want to. Eventually. They can also hold it under wraps. There's a full-season IL and there's the 7-day. Until the Yankees comment on Lagrange's issue, it's at the discretion of the general public to speculate wildly.

And when he hits the IL, he'll see recently streaking outfielder Garrett Martin there as well. LOVELY. The Yankees love to sell their fans on things and people that simply do not exist.

Lagrange recently appeared on June 18, June 21, June 25, and June 28. He went a scoreless frame on the 21st, a scoreless inning-and-a-third on the 25th, and then imploded for five earned runs on four hits in 2/3 of an inning in his final appearance. We'll leave you to guess when the issue manifested itself.

It's now extremely clear why Lagrange, recently selected to the Futures Game, was passed over in favor of Cruz for the recent stopgap during David Bednar's paternity leave (Cruz has since been demoted). When will Lagrange return? It's anyone's guess. But I'd bet against seven days.

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