New York Yankees reliever Michael King was placed on the 60-day injured list Saturday with a fractured right elbow.
King sustained the injury as he delivered a pitch to Ramon Urias in Friday’s 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He will miss the rest of the 2022 season, multiple outlets reported Saturday.
Also on Saturday, the Yankees recalled Clarke Schmidt and signed fellow right-hander Shane Greene to a major league contract. Both pitchers joined New York from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and will be available for Saturday’s game against the Orioles.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has employed King and Clay Holmes as a potent one-two punch out of the bullpen, the two handling the eighth and ninth innings.
Starter Jameson Taillon called the team’s mood “somber” following King’s injury.
“He’s a hard worker. I know he’ll get back here and get back to the same spot he was in,” Taillon told reporters. “It’s never easy seeing a guy walk off the field.”
King, 27, is 6-3 with a career-best 2.29 ERA, one save and 16 holds in 34 relief appearances this season. He has struck out 66 batters and walked 16 in 51 innings.
Without King, the Yankees will have to hope former closer Aroldis Chapman returns to his once-dominant form. Since coming off the injured list to start July, the left-hander has thrown 6 1/3 innings over eight appearances, allowing seven runs. His ERA in July is 9.95, and he’s allowed seven hits, walked seven and struck out nine.
On the season, the 34-year-old Chapman is 0-3 with a career-high 5.75 ERA.
Schmidt, 26, owns a 4-2 record with a 3.00 ERA in 14 appearances (one start) with the Yankees this season.
He is 4-3 with a 4.17 ERA in 19 career appearances (three starts) with New York.
Greene, 33, is a former All-Star closer who signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees on May 26 after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He is 24-29 with 67 saves and a 4.50 ERA in 342 games (33 starts) with the New York Yankees (2014), Detroit Tigers (2015-19), Atlanta Braves (2019-21) and Dodgers (2021-22).
Greene made the All-Star team in 2019 and finished that season with 23 saves and a 2.30 ERA over 65 games with the Tigers and Braves.
–Field Level Media
