Yankees bullpen takes another hit as reliever Fernando Cruz heads to injured list
NEW YORK โ The New York Yankeesโ taxed bullpen took another blow Wednesday when the team put right-hander Fernando Cruz โ typically one of their best late-inning options โ on the injured list with elbow discomfort.
The injury may explain Cruzโs poor performance of late.
Cruz gave up two runs, including a home run, in an inning in a 9-7 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. The Athleticโs Chris Kirschner saw Cruz leave the clubhouse late Tuesday night accompanied by a Yankees trainer.
Cruz has been awful since the All-Star break, posting a 5.52 ERA over 17 games (14 2/3 innings).
The Yankees also made a bevy of other moves.
They signed righty Michael Fulmer to a big-league deal and added him to the active roster to replace Cruz. Fulmer, 33, has made just three MLB appearances this season, all of them with the Los Angeles Angels. He had a 2.98 ERA in 37 appearances at Triple A with the San Francisco Giants. He won the Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was an All-Star in 2017 as a starting pitcher, but has been primarily a reliever since 2021. The team also called up righty prospect Elmer Rodrรญguez, who will start Wednesday night against the Astros.
Right-handed reliever Bradley Hanner was demoted to Triple A, and another righty reliever, Kervin Castro, was moved to the 60-day IL with elbow neuritis.
Cruz didnโt mention elbow pain when he spoke to reporters after Tuesdayโs loss.
โThereโs ups and downs like every player has,โ Cruz said of his recent struggles. โItโs been a lot of stuff regarding that, that weโre on top of. Just gotta be better. Itโs gonna come. My splitter hasnโt been as effective. A little bit of a mechanical change. Weโre playing (against) Major League Baseball players, and theyโre really good at it. I think they made the change. Now we have to adjust.โ
The Yankees didnโt trade for a reliever at the Aug. 3 deadline, and all they have done is take hits. They also have righty Angel Chivilli (elbow discomfort) on the injured list.
They have received stellar work from the rest of their high-leverage relievers, a group that includes lefty Brent Headrick and righties Paul Blackburn and David Bednar, the closer. But the trio has been used heavily in recent weeks as the Yankeesโ offense has sputtered and been unable to produce big leads.
