New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is st to undergo tests in his left knee after exiting from the team's Tuesday contest with the Miami Marlnis, per Cole Harvey of ESPN.com.
Chapman threw just six pitches in the bottom of the 12th inning, before signalling for the coaches and trainers to come out. The decision was then made to take out Chapman, and Tommy Kahnle would come in to finish the game and give the Yankees a much-needed victory.
Chapman has been hampered by knee injuries for most of the season, so the Yankees have to hope this isn't a serious issue. He's pitched just fine with 31 saves, a 2.11 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 47 innings.
"Same spot as he felt before, so we just got him out of there," said manager Aaron Boone, per Harvey. "We'll get all the testing and stuff done [on Wednesday]."
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Few teams have been hit hard with the injury bug as bad as the Yankees. Star slugger Aaron Judge has been sidelined for a month with a chip fracture in his wrist and likely won't return until September.
On top of that, hard-hitting catcher Gary Sanchez continues to recover from a groin injury, shortstop Didi Gregorius is on the DL with a left heel contusion, and C.C. Sabathia remains on the DL with a knee injury.
The Yankees also lost outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery for the rest of 2018. But despite the injuries, they sit at 79-46 and are in line to host the AL Wild Card Game. Boone and the coaching staff deserve plenty of credit for keeping the team together despite all the injuries to their stars.
New York does have a productive bullpen, with Dellin Betances, David Robertson or Kahnle being quality replacements as closer for the time being. But the Yankees can only hope that Chapman won't be sidelined long-term, and that he'll be back in time for the postseason.