What Jameson Taillon's Ankle Injury Reaggravation Means For Yankees

New York Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon reaggravated his ankle injury against the Toronto Blue Jays and could be sidelined for the rest of the season

Jameson Taillon’s return from the injured list did not go as planned on Tuesday night.

In his first start back since suffering a partially torn tendon in his right ankle, Taillon’s outing was short-lived as he reaggravated this issue.

The right-hander exited this outing in the third inning after just 38 pitches in noticeable pain before limping off the mound, thus ending his night and potentially his season.

“We’ll see what we have in the coming days," manager Aaron Boone said on Tuesday evening. “When he waved us out, I figured it had something to do with the injury.”

However, Boone was a lot more optimistic on Wednesday when speaking with reporters. According to the manager, Taillon is feeling “better than expected” today.

Taillon will receive additional tests on his ankle in the coming days and Boone said the possibility of him returning before the regular season ends is “at least still in play.”

Jameson Taillon is feeling "better than expected" today after reaggravating his ankle injury last night, Aaron Boone says.

He'll get some more tests over the next couple of days.

Boone said Taillon returning before the end of the season is "at least in play still."

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) September 29, 2021

That said, Taillon isn’t sure if that will be the case.

“I’m honestly not sure yet. I’d probably like to get another MRI just to compare to the first one we had just to see where we stand (better, worse or the same),” said Taillon. “Is it worth it to keep pushing through this? Can I make I make it worse? Is it just pain management? That kind of thing. I’ll have some questions for the doctor when I see him, but yeah, our back is definitely up against the wall as far as time in the season.”

Jameson Taillon said he's not sure if he'll pitch again this season

"Definitely our backs up against the wall" pic.twitter.com/Z8TfG4tW3h

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 29, 2021

Taillon received a PRP injection, which helped speed up his recovery after landing on the IL on September 9. Prior to his latest start, Boone said the pitcher was “in a really good place physically.”

Unfortunately, after all of the work he had gone through to make it back in time to pitch before the season ended, Taillon came away surprised and disappointed that he wasn’t able to make it through his first start back.

“[I felt it] probably about three pitches before my last one,” he said. “I threw a pitch, and I felt the tendon kind of roll around in there. Felt some pain in an area that I hadn’t really felt when I first injured this ankle, so I let a fastball sail high because I wasn’t able to push off properly. I made a good pitch on my last one, but it just didn’t feel right. I felt some pain kind of radiating in my foot, so I decided to put an end to it.

“It’s disappointing, especially throwing wise. Every milestone I had to hit, I felt like I hit with flying colors,” he said. “I really didn’t feel anything in my ankle when I was throwing. I never felt it in my bullpens [or] in my rehab game. Maybe I felt it in just some everyday activities going up and down the stairs and stuff like that, but with pitching I never felt it, so that was a little bit of a surprise to me last night because I felt like I had tested it, throwing my bullpens and rehab start with intensity.”

Taillon waved to the Yankees dugout to come out after this pitch pic.twitter.com/xmgLTU3L9L

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 29, 2021

Although they lost Taillon, the Yankees have caught fire at the most pivotal point of the season, which has seen them go up by two games in the top Wild Card spot to better their postseason odds.

However, with Taillon going down, they will likely have to fill his spot in their playoff rotation. The Yankees currently have ace Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber and Jordan Montgomery as their top three starters, and without Taillon, this could mean Nestor Cortes might be asked to take the hill in October.

On an additional note, Taillon previously mentioned if his ankle didn’t hold up that it could mean he’d need to undergo offseason surgery. If this proves to be the case, it would knock the right-hander out for the beginning of the 2022 season as well.

Although Taillon isn’t concerned about the long-term effects of this injury, he will only be comfortable going back out there this season if he is able to make big pitches, given how important this time of year is due to playoff implications.

Taillon has certainly endured his fair share of injuries throughout his big-league career, undergoing two separate Tommy John surgeries when he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He called this ankle injury “frustrating” because it was out of his control.

While Taillon is able to take care of his elbow via routine, treatment, mechanics, arm motion and diet, he called the ankle a “freak thing” and he still isn’t sure what caused this injury. 

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