Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers was pulled from his outing on Saturday against the Blue Jays with forearm discomfort, per a team announcement. He’s headed for imaging. Weathers was removed with one out and two runners on in the fourth inning during a Myles Straw at-bat.
Weathers labored through his outing before the injury. He had already thrown 72 pitches to get 10 outs. Toronto was threatening to break open a tight game. As Bryan Hoch of MLB.com noted, something appeared to go wrong on his final pitch to Straw. Yerry de los Santos took over the at-bat and was able to get New York out of trouble.
Discomfort is a vague diagnosis, and it comes before an MRI has been done, but it’s concerning nonetheless. Weathers has a checkered injury history. Forearm and lat issues limited him to eight starts last season. A finger injury sidelined him for two and a half months in 2024.
Weathers passed his previous career high in innings with Saturday’s outing. He entered today’s start at 134 frames across 24 starts. His previous high as a pro was 137 1/3 innings between the minors and majors in 2023. That season was split between the Padres and Marlins.
The Yankees landed Weathers in an offseason trade with the Marlins. New York sent over a package of four prospects to secure the 26-year-old left-hander. Weathers is having a solid season, putting together a 3.56 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning as one of the steadiest members of the rotation.
Either Weathers or Will Warren was heading to the bullpen once the Yankees’ starters were fully healthy. The group never got to that point, though. When Carlos Rodon returned, it seemed Warren would shift to a relief role, but Max Fried went down before that could happen. Fried is dealing with a left elbow bone bruise for the second time this season. With Weathers now injured, Warren’s spot appears safe.
The Yankees have turned to righty Elmer Rodriguez for spot starts on multiple occasions this season. He’d be a candidate to fill in for Weathers if needed, at least until Fried comes back. Rodriguez last pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. He’s struggled with walks in four MLB starts, but he has a crisp 2.59 ERA in the minors this year.
Luis Gil came in after Rodriguez in that game on Tuesday. He’s made three appearances this month as he works his way back from a shoulder injury. Gil got up to 37 pitches over two innings in his most recent outing. It’ll likely take a few more games until he’s stretched out enough to be a rotation candidate. A bullpen role with the big-league club is probably a more realistic scenario at this stage in the season.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
