Jake Cousins’ pec issue went from being a “couple-day thing” to being a 15-day injured list stint.
On Sunday, the Yankees placed Cousins on the IL with a right pec strain and called up Clayton Beeter to fill his spot in the bullpen.
Cousins had emerged as an important high-leverage arm in the Yankees’ late-inning mix and match, but he will now be out for at least the rest of the regular season.
The Yankees placed Jake Cousins on the injured list.
The hope is he can return for the playoffs, though that will likely depend on his visit Monday with team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.
“We’re hoping it’s minor enough that a couple days down and then start ramping up next week to be in line for the playoffs,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday morning before the Yankees finished off a sweep of the A’s at the Coliseum. “We didn’t want to get in a situation to where … say he comes into a game Tuesday and he isn’t quite right, then we got to IL him and then we’re up against it from a time situation. So we’ll see what we have.”
Boone is hoping Cousins can get back on a mound as early as next week.
The IL stint is retroactive to Friday, meaning the right-hander will be eligible to be activated Oct. 5 — the day the ALDS begins — at the earliest.
Jake Cousins pitches for the Yankees during their Aug. 7 game.
Cousins last pitched Thursday in Seattle but only threw six pitches before he walked off the mound with a trainer.
He said he had been dealing with pec tightness for a few days but had felt enough improvement to give it a go.
In 37 appearances this season, Cousins posted a 2.37 ERA with some much needed swing-and-miss — 53 strikeouts in 38 innings.
Lou Trivino would have been an option to replace Cousins, but he was recently shut down with a shoulder issue while finishing out his rehab assignment coming back from UCL surgery.
Boone said he did not have the specifics of what exactly is wrong with Trivino’s shoulder.
Beeter, meanwhile, missed nearly four months with a shoulder injury (that once looked like it might require surgery) but returned two weeks ago as a reliever with strong results.
In five appearances between Double-A and Triple-A, the right-hander threw seven shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
“It’s been kind of exciting,” Boone said. “His last few outings at Triple-A have been kind of lights out. Excited to get him here and see what he can do in these final games. He’s got really good stuff. He could be a factor.”
