Flurry of Yankees Moves Puts Michael King on IL, Reintroduces Familiar Face
The Yankees officially placed Michael King on the 60-day injured list on Saturday.
The move comes a day after the talented reliever suffered a right elbow fracture while pitching against the Orioles. King, 27, was enjoying a sensational season, tallying a 2.29 ERA over 51 innings out of New York’s bullpen. Now the right-hander will miss the rest of the 2022 campaign.
The loss of King is a major blow to the Yankees, who announced several other corresponding moves.
Outfielder Tim Locastro was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Friday’s game. The Yankees also recalled Clarke Schmidt on Saturday. The 26-year-old with options has gone back and forth between the majors and minors this season, but Schmidt has pitched well with New York. The righty has a 3.00 ERA over 14 games, mostly in relief.
With Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Loáisiga struggling in their returns from the injured list, Schmidt could receive an opportunity to fill the void King leaves behind.
The Yankees made one additional move in their bullpen Saturday, signing veteran righty Shane Greene to a major league deal and selecting him from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Greene, 33, began his career with the Yankees in 2014, making 14 starts as a rookie before being dealt in a three-way trade with the Diamondbacks and Tigers. That trade brought shortstop Didi Gregorius to New York.
Greene has since seen big league action with the Tigers, Braves and Dodgers, recording a 4.50 ERA over 469.2 major league innings. He recorded 55 saves from 2018-2019.
The Yankees reunited with Greene on a minor league deal in May. Greene appeared in 15 games for the RailRiders, tallying a 3.86 ERA before rejoining the Yankees.
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