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Yankees suffer another pitching injury, young reliever comes up

Originally posted on Empire Sports Media | By Ryan Garcia | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 6:36 PM ET

Mark Leiter Jr. will hit the injured list with a fibular head fracture on his left knee, and the Yankees have promoted RHP Clayton Beeter in his place.

It has been a struggle for this pitching staff, who have lost Fernando Cruz, Ryan Yarbrough, and Clarke Schmidt over the last month to injuries.

Schmidt will be out for the season, and based on the usual recovery time for Fernando Cruz’s high-grade oblique strain, he could be absent for at least a few more weeks.

Ryan Yarbrough has yet to have an established timeline for his return, and now a weak staff has been made even weaker with this injury.

Clayton Beeter will come up to replace Mark Leiter Jr. following a demotion on July 4th, and Aaron Boone will have to work with an even shakier bullpen.

Injuries Continue to Pile Up for the Yankees With Mark Leiter Jr. Suffering Fracture

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It’s been an up-and-down season for Mark Leiter Jr. who has a 4.46 ERA, 2.76 FIP, and 29.1% strikeout rate on the year, with most metrics suggesting he’s dealt with poor defense behind him this year.

The Yankees have made plenty of errors and misplays behind the veteran right-hander, who was part of the group who came in to stop the bleeding against the Mets on Sunday.

According to Bryan Hoch, Leiter details that this stress fracture is linked back to an outing against the Reds when he covered first base, and seeing that his ERA is over 15.00 since that play, the knee was certainly affecting him.

New York has promoted Clayton Beeter to aid their bullpen, and while his fastball sat around 96 MPH in his outing against the Blue Jays, his poor command reared its ugly head.

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He issues two free passes and surrendered three runs in 1.2 innings of work, struggling after coming in for an injured Clarke Schmidt, who we found out later would have a torn UCL.

It’s a never-ending avalanche of injuries for the Yankees, and with their staff continuing to be depleted, they’ll need to act quickly at this year’s trade deadline to address their pitching woes.

The Yankees host the Mariners tonight with Logan Gilbert facing off against Will Warren for the first game of this three-game set.

This article first appeared on Empire Sports Media and was syndicated with permission.

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