Yankees lose Ryan Weathers to injured list, but there's still hope for postseason

Yankees lose Ryan Weathers to injured list, but there’s still hope for postseason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The New York Yankees got some bad news on Sunday morning, as Ryan Weathers, their left-handed pitcher offseason pickup from the Miami Marlins, is headed to the injured list.

He’s going to miss at least the next 15 days, and potentially even more as he recovers from what the Yankees reported as a “left forearm flexor strain.” Brendan Beck is taking his 26-man roster spot.

Losing Weathers to the IL hurts, but Brendan Kuty of The Athletic is reporting some positive news. Weathers said he doesn’t think this IL placement will end his season and that the playoffs are still in play for the left-hander.

Yankees have playoff hope for Ryan Weathers despite IL placement

“Weathers says he doesn’t necessarily think this ends his season,” Kuty reports. “Says tests show elbow is fine. Says he dealt with something similar last season in MIA and it kept him out a month, but that was more severe. Says he could have kept pitching but wanted to be smart. No plan yet.”

Seeing a player hit the injured list is always a bit scary, especially this late into the season. But Weathers reportedly isn’t suffering from such a terrible injury.

The fact that he believes he could’ve kept pitching is a great sign. If nothing goes wrong in his recovery, Weathers should be able to come back for New York in the playoffs.

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Getting him back to help the Yankees in the wide-open American League postseason field would be huge, especially since he’s been great this season.

Weathers has a 3.60 ERA in 25 starts for the Yankees this season with 2.2 bWAR and a 143 strikeouts-to-38 walks ratio. His 117 ERA+ is just one point behind his career-high of 118 in 2024.

The 26-year-old left-hander has become a quality pitcher, and while losing him for the next few weeks will sting, he has a chance to return for the playoffs.

Assuming Weathers does return, he could slide into a bullpen role, both to save his arm as much as possible amid a return from injury and also with their already strong rotation without him.

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