8:57am: Loaisiga first felt discomfort in his elbow near the end of his most recent outing on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone explained to the Yankees beat this morning ( via Greg Joyce of the New York Post). He called the injury concerning, noting that an MRI conducted last night revealed a significant strain. Loaisiga and the team are gathering more information on the injury and will determine next steps for the right-hander once theyve received additional opinions. 7:35am: The Yankees have placed right-handed reliever on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the team has selected the contract of right-hander . Hes joining the big league bullpen. Loaisiga, 29, has all the makings of a high-end leverage reliever but hasnt been able to stay healthy enough to establish himself in that role. He showed just how dominant he could be back in 2021 when he pitched 70 2/3 innings of 2.17 ERA ball with an above-average 24.4% strikeout rate, a very strong 5.4% walk rate and a sensational 60.6% ground-ball rate. The Nicaraguan-born righty averaged a blazing 98.4 mph on his sinker that season, notched an excellent 13.7% swinging-strike rate and posted a mammoth 41.1% opponents chase rate on pitches off the plate. Unfortunately for both the Yankees and for Loaisiga, thats the only season in which hes ever thrown even 50 big league innings. Loaisiga has only reached even 20 appearances in two seasons. Since committing to a bullpen role in 2020, hes delivered 163 1/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA (3.34 FIP, 3.42 SIERA), 20.3% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 58% grounder rate. Theres little doubting the raw talent is there to make him a star bullpen arm, but hes mi sed time due to a shoulder strain, Hyeon-jong Yang Jersey subsequent shoulder inflammation, elbow inflammation (twice) and now a flexor strain thatll sideline him into at least the early summer months. If Loaisigas absence extends further than that 60-day minimum, its feasible this could spell the end of his time in the Bronx entirely. The right-hander has five-plus years of major league service time and is slated to become a free agent at seasons end. Santana, 27, signed a minor league pact with the Yankees back in early December. Like Loaisiga, he features a power sinker and strong ground-ball rates when at his best, but he hasnt found nearly the same succe s and consistency that Loaisiga has when healthy. Once one of the Dodgers top-ranked pitching prospects, Santana has bounced to the Rangers, Mets and now Yankees since leaving Los Angeles. Hes pitched just 149 2/3 innings in the big leagues and has a pedestrian 5.17 ERA to show for it (though a 4.26 FIP and 4.47 SIERA are a bit more favorable). Santana has averaged just under 96 mph on his sinker in his career and has kept the ball on the ground at a nearly 50% clip since adopting that as his primary offering. But hes walked more than 12% of his big league opponents and struggled with men on base, resulting in a well below-average strand rate thats helped to inflate his ERA. Santana has regularly mi sed bats at a high level in the upper minors, and his power sinker fits a mold that the Yankees tend to prefer out of their late-inning relievers. Hell need to improve his command, but Santana wouldnt be the first relatively obscure arm to break out with the Yankees if he can get himself on track in the Bronx. Hes out of minor league options, however, so it could be a short stint on the 40-man roster if the Yankees feel they need to open another spot in the near future. If he gets a decent leash and can find some succe s, hes controllable through the 2026 season via arbitration. Jeff Burroughs Jersey