Yankees right-hander Scott Effross is going on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain, according to manager Aaron Boone, courtesy Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. Boone characterizes the strain as minor but says that Effross will be shut down from throwing for 7-10 days, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Fellow righty Clarke Schmidt will take his place on the active roster.
It’s yet another blow to a Yankee relief corps that has seen its fair share of them this year. Earlier in the campaign, they lost Chad Green to Tommy John surgery. In July, Michael King suffered a season-ending elbow fracture. That month also saw Miguel Castro land on the shelf due to a shoulder strain. Here in August, the club has seen Clay Holmes and Albert Abreu go on the IL due to back spasms and elbow inflammation, respectively.
Effross, 28, was acquired from the Cubs prior to the trade deadline and immediately jumped into the mix for high leverage work in the Bronx. He recorded a hold in his second appearance with the club, later tallying a save as well. Unfortunately, the club will now have to get by without him as an option, at least for a few weeks. He’s thrown 52 1/3 innings this year between Chicago and New York, registering a 2.75 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate.
While the loss of Effross is certainly bad news, the Yankees got good news about their bullpen elsewhere. Holmes has started throwing bullpens without physical issues, per Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network, meaning he’s on track to return soon. Miguel Castro has started throwing as well, per Marly Rivera of ESPN, and could progress to throwing a bullpen by Friday. And in non-bullpen news, Boone tells Rivera that the plan for slugger Giancarlo Stanton is to be activated from his rehab assignment on Thursday.
