Key member of Yankees bullpen to undergo surgery to remove bone spur

Yankees right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow, manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter links). Loáisiga won’t be able to throw for the next three to six weeks, and Boone estimates he won’t return to the big league club until August or September.

Loáisiga, 28, has been on the injured list for most of the year so far. He made just three appearances before hitting the shelf a few weeks ago, with his ailment listed at that time as elbow inflammation. It now seems the specific problem has been found, and he will go under the knife, missing the next few months of the season.

It’s an unfortunate development for both the club and Loáisiga, who has emerged as a key piece of the bullpen in recent seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, the righty has tossed 145 innings with a 3.04 ERA. He’s struck out 21.5% of batters faced in that time while walking just 7% and has kept balls in play on the ground at an excellent 58.9% clip.

The Yankees have been getting effective relief work even with injuries to Loaisiga, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle, as their collective 2.93 ERA ranks second in the majors right now, but they will have to now stretch that out for a few more months with depleted depth.

For Loaisiga personally, he is making $2.26M this season in his second pass through the arbitration system. He’ll be set for one more in 2024 before he’s slated to reach free agency. His earning power for next year will be limited based on the fact that he won’t be able to contribute much this year.