New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, the team announced Saturday.
Stroman gave up five runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning during Friday’s 9-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants. San Francisco scored five runs (three on a homer from Jung Hoo Lee) before recording an out in the first inning, the first time the Giants have done that in 19 years. By the time Stroman was pulled from the game, the Giants had gone through their full batting order.
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters afterward that Stroman was experiencing knee pain and was sent to a hospital for tests.
“When he came out, he said his left knee was bugging him,” Boone explained. “We got some X-rays here, and I think he went to the hospital to get some more testing. So we’ll see what we have [Saturday].”
Stroman said nothing about the knee prior to Friday’s start, according to Boone.
The 11-year veteran insisted that he was a starter during spring training, when it appeared he might get squeezed out of the rotation. Working out of the bullpen, he said, was not an option.
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Stroman essentially won a spot in the rotation by default, with Gerrit Cole needing Tommy John surgery and Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt beginning the season on the injured list. In hindsight, not trading Stroman looked like a smart decision.
However, Stroman hasn’t pitched like an asset worth keeping in his first three outings, compiling an 11.57 ERA and an 0-1 record. He hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning while giving up three runs or more in each of his starts. He also issued six walks versus four strikeouts combined in his past two appearances.
For the Yankees the timing of Stroman going on the IL is somewhat fortunate. Schmidt is set to return this week from the shoulder injury that sidelined him to begin the season. The left-hander pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Somerset on Thursday. He allowed four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Boone said last week that Schmidt could rejoin the Yankees’ rotation Tuesday or Wednesday if all went according to plan, and he now appears to be ready.
