Yankees reliever Michael King may be ready for spring training after elbow surgery

As noted by an ESPN piece, the New York Yankees officially placed right-handed reliever Michael King on the 60-day injured list this past weekend because of the fractured right elbow he suffered while facing the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. 

It appears both King and the Yankees avoided a worst-case scenario regarding that setback. 

Per Dan Martin of the New York Post, MLB insider Jon Heyman reported Tuesday that King's ulnar collateral ligament is "said to look pretty good for a pitcher," meaning the 27-year-old should only require surgery to repair the elbow fracture. While plenty can and still will occur during King's recovery, the hope is that the relief pitcher will be cleared for spring training activities early next year. 

Had King needed Tommy John surgery, he likely would've remained out of action until some point in 2024.

King was on the bump in the eighth inning of Friday's matchup at the Orioles when the injury forced him to abruptly end his outing after he delivered a pitch to Baltimore third baseman Ramon Urias.