And Yet Another Yankee Pitcher Is Out!

Alright, let’s just put it out there—what in the actual hell is happening to the Yankees? Are they cursed? Did someone anger the baseball gods? Did Aaron Boone break a mirror in the clubhouse? Because at this point, we’re running out of rational explanations for why the Yankees’ roster looks like a M.A.S.H. unit before the season has even started.

You already know about Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Giancarlo Stanton—because of course, Giancarlo Stanton. But if you happened to check out my earlier piece, GEEZ, HAVE YOU SEEN THE YANKEES “INJURED LIST” LATELY? from March 4th, you’d know that the injury bug isn’t just nibbling at the Yankees—it’s feasting on them like it’s at an all-you-can-eat buffet. And now, as if we needed more, Mark Leiter Jr. joins the list! Hooray!

Leiter was supposed to pitch Thursday against the Tigers, but, oh no—he felt something in his back. And in classic Yankees fashion, the team decided to play it safe. He’s now scheduled to throw live batting practice on Sunday. So, you know what that means? Expect him on the IL by Tuesday!

And then there’s Aaron Boone. The human embodiment of “everything is fine” while the Yankees’ roster crumbles around him. Here’s what he had to say about Leiter: “It wasn’t anything huge, I think he just wanted to be safe with it.” Oh, okay. So, totally not a big deal, right? Just like all the other injuries that start as “nothing huge” and then suddenly become “he’ll be back in six months, hopefully”. Boone either has no idea what’s going on with his players or he’s just trained to downplay everything to keep us from full-blown panic. Either way, it’s exhausting.

But wait, there’s more! Because of course, there is. The Yankees are already juggling injuries to Scott Effross (hamstring strain), Jake Cousins (forearm strain), and Tyler Matzek (oblique strain). Oh, and don’t forget about Jonathan Loáisiga, who is still building back from elbow surgery and probably won’t see the mound until late May or early June.

So, I ask again—why is this happening at an alarming rate? Bad luck? A terrible strength and conditioning program? Overtraining? Undertraining? Are the Yankees holding secret underground sumo wrestling tournaments in the offseason?

It’s a vicious cycle: guys get hurt, other players “step up” and overexert themselves, and then—surprise!—they get hurt too. And no one seems to be doing anything about it! It’s beyond frustrating at this point.

At some point, someone in the Yankees’ front office needs to stop shrugging and actually take a hard look at why half the team is always in traction. Until then, I guess we’ll just keep watching the injury list grow and wonder who’s next.

Because let’s be real—someone is definitely next.