Yankees

Fernando Cruz’s Slump May Have Had a Bigger Problem Behind It

By ••4 min read
Fernando Cruz’s Slump May Have Had a Bigger Problem Behind It

The Yankees bullpen just took another hit at exactly the wrong time.

New York placed right-handed reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with right elbow discomfort, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The move comes one night after Cruz struggled in a 9-7 loss to the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium.

And considering where the Yankees are in the season, the words “elbow discomfort” are enough to make anybody nervous.

Cruz’s Rough Night Now Looks More Concerning

Cruz worked 1 inning Tuesday against Houston and allowed 2 runs, including a 2-run home run to Jeremy Peña. He also issued a walk before the big blow.

After the game, reports noted Cruz leaving the Yankees clubhouse accompanied by a team trainer. At the time, however, Cruz told reporters he felt healthy and pointed toward mechanics and his splitter as the main reasons behind his recent struggles.

“There’s ups and downs like every player has,” Cruz said. “My splitter hasn’t been as effective. A little bit of a mechanical change. We’re playing against Major League Baseball players, and they’re really good at it.”

Less than 24 hours later, he was on the injured list.

The Yankees have only described the problem as right elbow discomfort. There has been no announced structural diagnosis, so right now there is no reason to jump to the worst possible conclusion.

But it also raises an obvious question: how long has the elbow been bothering him?

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The Numbers Had Already Started Moving the Wrong Way

Cruz has not looked like himself for several weeks.

Since the All-Star break, the 36-year-old owns a 5.52 ERA across 17 appearances and 14 2/3 innings. Dating back to mid-July, he allowed at least 1 earned run in 7 of 16 appearances while posting a 5.93 ERA. Over his last 7 games, that number climbed to 6.35.

For the full season, Cruz is 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA, 67 strikeouts, 32 walks and a 1.34 WHIP across 54 2/3 innings and 61 appearances.

So this is not about pretending Cruz suddenly became a bad reliever. He has been an important part of this bullpen. The issue is whether the decline in command and effectiveness was baseball randomness, mechanical trouble, or something connected to the elbow.

That splitter is everything for Cruz. When it is dropping correctly, hitters look completely lost. When he cannot command it or get the same movement, the entire appearance can change quickly.

Another Injury for a Late-Blooming Yankees Reliever

Cruz’s road to becoming a major-league reliever was anything but normal.

Originally drafted by Kansas City in the 6th round in 2007 as an infielder, Cruz spent years bouncing through the minors, independent baseball and leagues outside the United States before converting to pitching.

He finally reached the majors with Cincinnati in 2022 at age 32.

The Yankees acquired Cruz from the Reds in December 2024 along with catcher Alex Jackson in the deal that sent José Trevino to Cincinnati. A lifelong Yankees fan from Puerto Rico, Cruz eventually became one of Aaron Boone’s trusted bullpen arms.

His injury history makes Wednesday’s news a little more uncomfortable. Cruz missed time in 2025 because of right shoulder inflammation and later suffered a high-grade left oblique strain that kept him out for nearly 2 months.

Cashman’s Bullpen Depth Is About to Be Tested

The Yankees responded by signing veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer to a major-league contract. Fulmer, the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year and a 2017 All-Star, posted a 2.93 ERA in Triple-A this season after spending time with the Giants and Angels organizations.

New York also optioned Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, recalled Elmer Rodríguez and transferred Kervin Castro to the 60-day IL with elbow neuritis.

Now the pressure increases on David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Brent Headrick and everybody else Aaron Boone trusts late in games.

The Yankees were 74-57 when the move was announced. October is getting closer. The bullpen workload is climbing. And Brian Cashman did not bring in another reliever at the trade deadline.

If Cruz only needs the minimum 15 days, this becomes a manageable late-season speed bump.

If that elbow discomfort turns into something more significant, the conversation changes quickly.

For now, the Yankees have to hope Cruz caught the problem early—and that one of their most important swing-and-miss arms can still be part of this bullpen when the games really start counting.

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