Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman lands on IL with left elbow inflammation
Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman delivers against the Mariners during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Yankees on Saturday put Aroldis Chapman on the 10-day injured list with elbow inflammation — something they believe is not serious but necessitates a few days of no throwing, Aaron Boone said.
Boone said the MRI on Chapman’s elbow was "good news" and that the Yankees hope he can be reinstated when the 10 days are up (he was placed on the IL retroactive to Friday). Boone added that Chapman originally began to feel some discomfort during the Marlins series last week.
Chapman, who didn’t allow an earned run in his first 18 innings but had a difficult June and July — his ERA at one point ballooned to 4.71 — has looked better in recent outings but still not quite like himself.
In his last performance Thursday, he came in with a two-run lead and got the save, but not before Mitch Haniger, representing the go-ahead run, flied deep to leftfield. Chapman threw 30 pitches, his longest outing since 2018. He is 5-3 with 23 saves and a 3.63 ERA.
Until Chapman returns, the ninth inning will be something of a hodgepodge for the Yankees. Jonathan Loaisiga picked up the save in the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Mariners on Saturday, retiring the side in order in the ninth.
"He’s a really good pitcher and you’ve heard our excitement about him now for the last several years and he’s continued to get a little bit better, a little bit better, and this year, he’s broken through and become one of the game’s really good relievers," Boone said of Loaisiga. "He’s huge for us."
The Yankees also have a former elite closer in Zack Britton, whom Boone said he will turn to when possible. Britton had pitched in two straight games and was unavailable Saturday.
"Britt, Lo [Loaisiga], Greeney [Chad Green], depends on a given night," Boone said of his ninth-inning situation. "All guys that I feel great about handling it. [Albert] Abreu closed it out last night. It’s all hands on deck, but obviously Britt has a ton of experience in that, and Lo and Greeney we’ve seen back there now and Lo obviously got it done today, so we’ll mix and match depending on who’s up . . . Whatever the situation calls for."
The Yankees recalled righthander Nick Nelson from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
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