SAN DIEGO — Fernando Cruz is avoiding the knife for now, in theory giving him an outside shot of pitching again this season.
The Yankees reliever, who was diagnosed last week with a partially torn UCL, has decided to try for the conservative route instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery, which still could be an option down the line.
The 36-year-old met with noted surgeon Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion this week, but because he has been feeling better and the “physical tests are pretty good right now,” according to manager Aaron Boone, Cruz is hoping to start throwing in the next few days and “see where that leads.”
Whether that gives him a chance to get back this season remains to be seen.
“Can’t rule it out, but impossible to know right now because I think surgery could be an option,” Boone said Friday at Petco Park before opening a series against the Padres. “But it doesn’t sound like we’re going down that road yet. See how he responds and continues to respond. He’s had a pretty good week or 10 days here of recovery and feeling good. So we’ll see.”
Armed with a splitter that often made hitters look foolish, Cruz had pitched to a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances this season, though he had a 5.93 ERA over his final 16 appearances, as he later revealed he had been pitching through some elbow discomfort for the last three weeks before going on the IL.
Even with his recent struggles, Cruz’s absence left a void in Boone’s late-inning circle of trust, which now is limited to David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn (plus Tim Hill against lefty lanes).
As expected, George Lombard Jr. returned to the lineup Friday for the first time since leaving Saturday’s game early with right knee inflammation. The rookie shortstop missed the Angels series but used that time to recover and get back in the fold against the Padres.
Ryan Weathers (left forearm flexor strain) is expected to start throwing this weekend, two weeks after being shut down. If he responds well, the lefty should still have a chance to come back as a reliever.
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Carlos Lagrange, who injured his shoulder in late June at Triple-A while making the transition from starter to reliever, is slated to throw live batting practice and then be activated with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It remains a long shot that he could impact the Yankees this season.
Aaron Judge (right rib stress fracture) took on-field batting practice Friday for the first time in his rehab. He has been facing high-velocity pitching machines in the indoor cage on this trip in hopes of potentially returning next week.
