The New York Yankees' bullpen took a massive hit, as relief ace Michael King will miss the rest of the season with a fractured elbow, the team confirmed Saturday.
King was placed on the 60-day injured list before Saturday's game. Manager Aaron Boone said King has returned to New York for additional tests to see if there's ligament damage in his elbow, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
#Yankees GM Brian Cashman says Michael King’s season-ending elbow injury is a “big loss” and hopes he can “run into some things” before trade deadline.
— Gabe Lacques (@GabeLacques) July 23, 2022
And after a punishing month of work, echoes the sentiment of almost everyone in the industry: “I would move the draft.”
After throwing a pitch in the eighth inning of Friday's 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles, King immediately walked toward the dugout in obvious pain. Boone said postgame that King told him while leaving the mound that it was an elbow injury, per YES Network.
Michael King leaves the game after throwing this pitch. Does not look great pic.twitter.com/cfkt8kJ449
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 23, 2022
"It's tough to watch," Yankees starter Jameson Taillon told reporters postgame, per YES. "Definitely thinking about him. It was kind of a somber mood in here after the game."
The injury brings an abrupt end to what's been a breakout season for King. The 27-year-old has been the Yankees' best reliever, sporting a 2.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 66 strikeouts in 51 innings while ranking third in the AL in WAR.
King is the latest loss to befall a dominant Yankees bullpen this season. Chad Green underwent season-ending elbow surgery earlier this year, Zack Britton hasn't pitched while rehabbing from his own Tommy John surgery, and Miguel Castro is still out with a strained shoulder. Longtime closer Aroldis Chapman has also struggled at times this season.
To help replace King, the Yankees signed former All-Star reliever Shane Greene to a major-league contract and selected him from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Greene, 33, got into one big-league game with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this year before joining the Yankees organization as a free agent in May. He put up a 3.86 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 22 strikeouts and eight walks over 15 appearances with the RailRiders.
New York also recalled right-hander Clarke Schmidt from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, while outfielder Tim Locastro was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
