The New York Yankees announced that reliever Mark Leiter Jr. will head to the 15-day Injured List, retroactive to the 7th July due to a stress fracture in the left fibula. The pitcher incurred the injury last month, when he took the loss in a 6-5 win for the Cincinnati Reds.
The injury occurred in the bottom of the 11th inning with Leiter on the mound. After Elly De La Cruz hit a grounder, Leiter rushed to first and covered the bag. He felt discomfort in his leg. He fought through it, but the pain didn't go away.
“It’s a bone, so the bone has to heal,” Leiter said. “The only thing that was bothering me in the beginning was running and turning left. It got better and better each day. It was trending in a good way, I thought. Then it just took a step back.”

As per the 34-year-old, his pain increased after his latest appearance during the Subway Series game against the New York Mets. Overall, he has made four appearances since his injury, with unconvincing results, earning five runs in just 2.1 innings pitched.
Before his placement on the IL, Leiter was one of the most heavily used arms in the bullpen by Aaron Boone. He had a 2.65 ERA at home at Yankee Stadium and a 4.46 ERA overall in 41 appearances. He has fanned almost one-third of the batters he has faced with a 32.1% strikeout rate.
There has been no return date set for Leiter's return. As per Boone, he will be assessed with an MRI and depending on the results, the doctors are expected to chart out the further course of action.
Mark Leiter Jr. becomes latest injury victim in thin Yankees bullpen
Mark Leiter Jr. joined Jake Cousins, Fernando Cruz and Yerry De Los Santos on the bullpen names on the Yankees Injured List. The Yankees haven't found much from reliever Luke Weaver, carrying a 13.50 ERA in his seven appearances since returning from injury.
Overall, starters Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt sustained season-ending injuries, while Luis Gil and Ryan Yarbrough are in rehab. Boone sounded disappointed about the several injuries to the club.
“It’s been a rough stretch,” Boone said. “Especially with the amount of games, pitching guys, we’ve been in a lot of close games. … Mark’s a guy that we’ve leaned on a lot in the first half, so that’s probably caught up to us a little bit.”
Clayton Beeter was called up to the main roster from Triple-A Scranton to fill in Leiter's place.