When the New York Yankees placed struggling reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, the initial diagnosis of right elbow discomfort was an instant red flag.
And unfortunately, it appears the worst-case scenario is playing out for the 36-year-old righty.
After New York’s game against the Houston Astros that night, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the media that Cruz has a partially torn UCL in his elbow. While he will seek second opinions from doctors, there is a legitimate possibility that Cruz will need Tommy John surgery.
Such a procedure would not only rule him out for the rest of 2026, but likely for the entire 2027 season. The typical recovery time of Tommy John surgery is 13-14 months; even if Cruz gets an internal brace procedure that has a slightly shorter timeframe of 12 months, that would still likely rule him out for 2027.
The elbow injury could be an explanation for Cruz’s struggles since the All-Star break. His season ERA jumped nearly a full run from 2.25 to 3.13; dating back to July 17, the splitter specialist has a 5.52 ERA and a ghastly 7.24 FIP in 17 appearances. Despite striking out 17 batters, he’s also issued 11 walks and surrendered five home runs, as hitters are laying off the splitter more and attacking his mediocre four-seam fastball.
The Yankees’ Bullpen is in Trouble
Even if Cruz’s UCL was still intact, it’s clear that the veteran reliever was being worn down by overuse. Before landing on the shelf, he appeared in 61 games, which is tied for the tenth-most among all relievers in MLB.
Yet Cruz is one of five Yankees relievers to appear in at least 50 games this season, and it’s not even September yet. The other four are Paul Blackburn, David Bednar, Tim Hill and Brent Headrick; in particular, Headrick leads MLB with 68 pitching appearances after only making 32 career pitching appearances prior to 2026.
The overuse of relievers is only exacerbated by the Yankees’ failure to acquire another arm at the trade deadline, forcing them to rely on internal reinforcements, waiver claims or free agents for reliever depth. With Cruz injured, New York is even more reliant on arms like Ryan Weathers, Clarke Schmidt and potentially even Luis Gil to return from their respective injuries and slot into the bullpen.
The good news is that in spite of their bullpen questions, the Yankees have won seven of their last nine and are within 3.5 games of first place in the AL East. The offense has also showed signs of breaking out, which is a massive development when Aaron Judge could return during the stretch run.
The Yankees will finish their three-game set against the Astros on Thursday before beginning a massive four-game series against their eternal nemeses, the Boston Red Sox, over the weekend in Yankee Stadium.
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