Major announcement: Austin Wells injury update, Fernando Cruz placed on 15-day IL

Monday came bearing bad news for the New York Yankees as the American League East leaders suffered a double injury blow ahead of the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Manager Aaron Boone shared major updates on reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Austin Wells ahead of the Blue Jays clash. Cruz sustained an oblique strain during a medicine ball workout on Sunday. He was subsequently placed on the 15-day injured list after undergoing an MRI on Monday.

"It was pretty painful for him,” Boone said. “Hopefully, it’s not too long and we’ll get him back, just a little fresher for the rest of the way.”

Fernando Cruz's last appearance was against the Athletics on Friday, where he pitched a scoreless inning to shut out the A's for a 3-0 win. The closer had only returned to action earlier this month after spending more than a week on the injured list due to a shoulder strain he suffered in late May. The Yankees signed right-hander Geoff Hartlieb to a Major League contract on Monday to replace Cruz.

Another Yankees player undergoing medical evaluation was catcher Austin Wells. The Yankees catcher sustained a finger injury last week. Wells missed the last two games for the team due to a circulatory issue, feeling a "cold sensation" in his finger.

“I think we’ve done all the due diligence to make sure he’s in a good spot,” Boone said. “Everything we’ve gotten back has been good so far. … It’s not something that bothers him while playing. On certain days, it’s almost like a cold feeling. Every now and then, he has days where it just doesn’t have a lot of circulation in there.”

J.C. Escarra was behind the plate in Monday's series opener against the Blue Jays and he will start again on Tuesday with Boone ruling out Wells until Wednesday.

Yankees stumble against Blue Jays after defensive errors

The Yankees suffered a disappointing defeat against their AL rivals despite holding a 3-1 lead midway through the sixth inning. A sloppy defensive effort by Anthony Volpe in the bottom of the sixth saw the Yankees concede four runs.

Despite a late effort from the visitors, the Blue Jays held on to a 5-4 win at Rogers Centre to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash