Yankees demote Jonathan Loaisiga | What it means

by Felix Pantaleon

The Yankees demoted righty starting pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga to Triple-A after the 5-3 11-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves on Monday, July 2, 2018 (7/2/18) at Yankee Stadium. Loaisiga gave up three runs in four innings of work, bringing his ERA to 3.00 for the season.

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NEW YORK — While Alex Rodriguez still has his J. Lo, the Yankees sent theirs packing.

For now.

Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees optioned right-handed starting pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga following a 5-3 loss to the Braves at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

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Loaisiga had given up three runs in four innings, throwing a career-high 92 pitches.

Loaisiga will go to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which is interesting, considering he’s never pitched there. The Yankees had promoted him straight from Double-A Trenton when Masahiro Tanaka (two strained hamstrings) got hurt.

Why they did it: The Yankees used five relievers for seven innings Monday. Chad Green and Jonathan Holder each pitched two innings. David Robertson, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances each pitched one. Robertson, Betances and Chapman each also pitched Sunday. So, the bullpen was nearly spent.

Why they did it, part 2: With Thursday’s off day, the Yankees can push Loaisiga to one of Monday’s games in the doubleheader in Baltimore. Loaisiga could be used as the team’s 26th man in the second game, so he wouldn’t eat a 25-man roster spot.

Who’s coming up? The Yankees will bring A.J. Cole (neck strain) back from the disabled list.

What Boone said: “Obviously, we went through a lot of (relievers Monday night), threw a lot of pitches. So, we’ll be a little challenged (Tuesday) .But we’ll kind of work through it. With two games and then the off day behind it, we’ll have to be cautious a little bit tomorrow. But with Cole coming back, between Cole and (David) Hale, we’ll be covered from a length situation with both of those guys being able to give us pretty good length.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.