Yankees Sign ‘Nasty’ Popular Free-Agent Despite 2 Tommy Johns

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Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga

At his best, we’ve seen what Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga can do with his impressive array of pitches. He can throw heat, but he also has the kind of nasty breaking stuff that MLB teams really need in high-leverage relief situations. And Loaisiga was one of the best high-leverage relievers the Yankees back in 2021, when he was 9-4 with a 2.17 ERA in 57 games.

In breaking down Loaisiga last month, SNY wrote of him, “When healthy, Loaisiga features a nasty four-pitch mix with his sinker, four-seamer, curveball, and changeup. He relies heavily on his sinker, which averages right around 98 mph, while his breaking ball averaged 9.8 inches of horizontal break in 2024, per Baseball Savant.”

The problem, though, has been the “when healthy” portion of things. Despite concerns about Loaisiga’s durability, though, and even after granting him frere agency after the 2024 season, the Yankees are moving forward with bringing him back to the Bronx for 2025.

Yankees Willing to Gamble on Loaisiga

Loaisiga began the year in the Yankees bullpen, and manager Aaron Boone was mostly cautious with him. That’s because injuries had torpedoed his 2023 season (as well has his first three years in the Bronx) and that his trips to the DL for arm-related issues were frequent. After just three appearances this season in the first week of the season, Loaisiga tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery.

It was his second Tommy John surgery in his career. That’s generally not great for a power pitcher who touches 98 on his fastball. The Yankees were among more than a dozen teams that watched Loaisiga throw last month as he prepares to return for 2025. He will not be ready for the start of the year.

Still, the Yankees are desperate for bullpen help, and they have enough familiarity with Loaisiga to grasp what he can do if he stays healthy. Even with his injury issues, he garnered ample attention on the market, with the Post reporting, “The Yankees won the bidding for Loaisiga, who was a popular target on the free-agent market.”

At 30 years old, he is 19-11 in his career, with a 3.44 ERA and a WHIP of 1.229.