Jameson Taillon Capable of Full Workload Upon Return to Yankees

Taillon has not pitched in the majors since early September due to an ankle injury. He’s back just in time for a crucial series against the Blue Jays.

Jameson Taillon will not be limited when he returns to the mound on Tuesday.

The Yankees activated the right-hander on Monday, optioning Albert Abreu to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move. Taillon will start New York’s series-opener in Toronto. The 29-year-old has not pitched in the majors since Sept. 6 due to a partially torn tendon in his right ankle.

Aaron Boone said Sunday that he expects Taillon to return without restrictions. The Yankees bullpen will be rested following an off day and Boone doesn’t anticipate Taillon approaching 100 pitches, but “he should be able to get close to a full workload.”

Taillon squeezed one rehab start in before being activated, throwing three innings and 51 pitches for the RailRiders on Sept. 22. He allowed two earned runs and struck out two.

Taillon, who did not pitch in 2020 and for most of 2019 thanks to Tommy John surgery, went through some ups and downs before hurting his ankle. He had a 5.74 ERA through his first 12 starts, a sign of rust after missing so much time over the last two seasons. His next 12 outings were mostly dominant, though. He recorded a 2.57 ERA over that stretch.

Taillon made an additional three starts before the injury, allowing 14 runs over 15.1 innings.

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With less than a week left in the regular season, the Yankees hope they’re getting midseason Taillon back with another crucial series about to begin. The Jays are trailing the Red Sox by a game in the AL wild card race, and the Yankees hold a one-game lead on the top wild card spot.

The Yanks are 6-10 against Toronto this season, and the Jays swept the Yankees over four games in the Bronx at the start of the month. The Blue Jays were the last team Taillon faced; he threw seven innings of three-run ball.

Now he’ll battle the Jays again with postseason implications hanging in the balance.

“I feel ready for it. I was able to throw some really aggressive bullpens. I got a lot out of the rehab start,” Taillon said. “The whole time I’ve been rehabbing, I’ve had these dates targeted and I understood that every game, no matter who it was against, down the stretch was gonna be huge. So I’ve already kind of had that on my mind for the past couple of weeks.”

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