Before the start of Saturday afternoon’s game, the Yankees announced that lefty reliever Justin Wilson is headed to the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. The team has called up right-handers Albert Abreu and Deivi García to fill out the pitching staff in Wilson’s absence. García was already scheduled to start today’s game, but it must have been a whirlwind day for Abreu, who the Yanks had optioned to Triple-A less than a hour prior in order to make room for García. They promptly recalled him once more to the big league squad once Wilson’s injury was announced.
The news of Wilson’s IL stint comes a day after the reliever gave up an agonizing, two-run walk-off home run to Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman. When Wilson was on the mound on Friday, some said Wilson fastball lacked the sharpness it usually has.
Aaron Boone says Justin Wilson has had a “nagging” hamstring for the last few weeks.
Boone thinks his shoulder injury and now the hamstring have contributed to the lack of life on his fastball.
“We know what he’s capable of and how important he can be to our bullpen.”
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) May 29, 2021
Fans haven’t had the chance to see much of Wilson, as the 33-year-old began the season on the IL after experiencing shoulder tightness in a late spring training game. It’s hard to know whether Friday’s performance was a blip on the radar, or the result of him pitching with a strained hamstring.
The veteran southpaw has severely disappointed expectations with a 6.08 ERA and team-worst 19.7 percent strikeout rate through 13.5 innings. Are Wilson’s outings in 2021 indicative of future performances? Nobody knows for sure, and to Yankees fans, he remains a mystery at best and a seemingly-endless source of frustration at worst. Given that it’s unknown how long Wilson will remain on the shelf, that’s not changing anytime soon.
