Jonathan Loaisiga’s Rehab Could Reshape Yankees Bullpen Plans.

The 30-year-old’s 2025 line has been uneven in results. He had a  4.25 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 25 K, 10 BB in 29.2 IP before the back issue. Under the hood, Baseball Savant shows contact quality against him has been manageable (86.6 mph avg EV, 35.4% hard-hit), and his xwOBA (.307) suggests performance should look better than his wOBA allowed (.368). 

The pitch mix remains classic Loaisiga: heavy sinker (58%), then changeup (19%) and curve (17%), with a dash of cutter and four-seamer. That sinker/change combo still plays as a ground-ball machine; FanGraphs pegs his 2025 GB% around 52%, which is exactly the profile Aaron Boone wants with traffic on the bases. 

Where does he fit when he returns after the Yankees invented heavily in relievers at the deadline?

The Yankees have David Bednar closing, meaning Luke Weaver has been moved back to a set-up role. They also have former Giants closer Camilo Doval for the back-end of the bullpen to go with Mark Leiter, Jr. and Tim Hill. That has allowed Boone to put struggling former closer Devin Williams into fewer high-leverage situations. 

. Loaisiga’s ideal usage is the seventh-to-eighth inning bridge, especially as a double-play button.

This is the first step for Loasiga, who had Tommy John surgery in 2024. He still needs to get through rehab challenges like throwing full throttle and bouncing back and pitching on back-to-back days. 

If the metrics resemble the pre-Tommy John version of Loaisiga, weak contact, grounders, and the expected stats surpassing the actuals, he slides right back into leverage. If not, they can soft-land him versus the bottom of opposing orders until the timing is fully back.

Either way, if the Yankees are going to stabilize late leads, getting this version of Loaisiga back matters as much as any deadline arm they didn’t trade for.