May 17, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Fernando Cruz (63) pitches against the New York Mets during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Yankees Top Reliever Suffers Shoulder Injury

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated May 22, 2025 9:00 AM ET

A late-inning reliever for the New York Yankees is currently dealing with an injury that's kept him out of the team's last few contests.

After the Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers in dramatic fashion with a walk-off home run during the second game of their three-game series, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that right-hander Fernando Cruz is battling through shoulder issues.

Aaron Boone says Fernando Cruz is dealing with shoulder issues: pic.twitter.com/QkOTzXeDSB
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Boone added that the club is hopeful Cruz will be available in the near future after imaging didn't reveal anything significant.

The 35-year-old last pitched during the Subway Series against the New York Mets on May 17. In that outing, Cruz went 1 1/3 innings and allowed the game-winning run on a Francisco Lindor sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning. Just 13 of his 26 pitches were strikes as he both walked and hit a batter, perhaps foreshadowing his ailment.

Cruz has been nothing short of superb thus far in his lone season with the Yankees. After arriving via trade in the deal that sent Jose Trevino to the Cincinnati Reds this past December, he has posted a 2.66 ERA with a 2.47 FIP, 13.31 K/9, 3.04 BB/9 and 0.97 WHIP through 23 1/3 frames spread across 21 outings.

His splitter was one of the more effective offerings in the major leagues last year, generating a run value of 10 according to Baseball Savant, and it's remained lethal in 2025.

Cruz has thrown it 215 times, making it the most-used pitch in his arsenal at 57.5 percent, and opposing batters are hitting a paltry .155 against it while also whiffing at a 57.8 percent clip.

A journeyman who bounced around the minor league systems of the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs with several independent ball stints mixed in before finally cracking the Reds' big-league roster in 2022, Cruz has come out of nowhere and developed into one of the game's best relievers.

Just the mention of a shoulder injury is enough to make any team or player shudder, but it appears as though the Yankees and Cruz side-stepped a worst-case scenario.

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