NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ first major injury of the regular season has occurred.
Righty reliever Jonathan Loáisiga was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor tendon strain, the team announced hours before Friday’s home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
To replace Loáisiga, the Yankees brought righty Dennis Santana up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, adding him to the 40-man roster.
It’s another major injury in a career marked by them for Loáisiga, who pitched just 17 games last season and hasn’t pitched 57 games in a season since 2021.
The Yankees were hoping to keep the Nicaragua native healthy by altering his workload this season. They were hoping that longer stints, coupled with extra rest between outings, would do the trick. He had made three scoreless appearances so far this season, the last in Wednesday’s 6-5 road win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Loáisiga threw 13 pitches, striking out one and allowing no base runners. The Yankees hoped he would help shape the back-end of their bullpen, alongside closer Clay Holmes.
Santana had a strong spring training for the Yankees. The 27-year-old made seven appearances, five of them scoreless, while posting a 2.79 ERA. Manager Aaron Boone had repeatedly praised Santana during camp, and it seemed possible that he would make the Opening Day roster before he was snubbed.
The Yankees have five relievers on the IL. Loáisiga joins righties Scott Effross (60-day IL, back), Tommy Kahnle (shoulder), McKinley Moore (knee) and Lou Trivino (60-day IL, Tommy John).
They have 10 players total on the IL.
The club started the year 6-1, sweeping the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park before winning two of three vs. the Diamondbacks.
We’re continuing to update this story.
(Top photo of Jonathan Loáisiga: Zac BonDurant/Getty Images)
