Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Provide 'Good News' on Aroldis Chapman's Left Elbow Injury

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was placed on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. The Yankees don't believe the injury is serious

Max Goodman

NEW YORK — The Yankees' ravaged pitching staff took another hit on Saturday.

Closer Aroldis Chapman was placed on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation shortly before New York's 5-4 victory over the Mariners.

Chapman threw a season-high 30 pitches in his one inning of work on Thursday night, battling in the ninth to secure his 23rd save of the season. 

The left-hander didn't look like himself in that outing, averaging just 97.4 mph on his blazing fastball, over a full tick lower than his season average of 98.6 mph. His elbow injury is retroactive to Friday when Chapman was one of the only members of the bullpen not to pitch in an 11-inning game where nine different arms threw at least one inning. 

After Saturday's win, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Chapman's elbow discomfort can be traced back to New York's road trip in Miami last weekend. As much as elbow inflammation sets off alarms as a possible serious injury for a hard-throwing pitcher, Boone sounded confident that this won't keep his closer sidelined for too long.

"The MRI was good news. I think it's just gonna be a few days of no throwing and then he should be able to ramp up from there," the skipper said. "I'm hopeful that on that 10th day he's activated, just a little bit of inflammation."

As much as Chapman has struggled this season—wiping away his unhittable start to the year—the southpaw had settled into a groove over the last few weeks. Chapman was a perfect 7-for-7 on save opportunities in the last month, pitching to a 0.82 ERA over his last 11 innings. 

The closer joins a long list of hurlers on the injured list. Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery are serving time on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the virus—along with catcher Gary Sánchez—while Corey Kluber, Luis Severino, Domingo Germán, Darren O'Day, Michael King and Clarke Schmidt remain on the IL with more traditional injuries.

Boone added that it'll be "all hands on deck" from his high-leverage relievers before Chapman is able to return. On Saturday, Jonathan Loaisiga was called upon to record the save—his fourth of the season—but on any given day it could be right-hander Chad Green or setup man Zack Britton.

Green has three saves this year while Britton saved eight games for the Yankees last season, finally hitting his stride after a few injuries earlier in the year.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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