NEW YORK — Fernando Cruz’s final minutes in the Yankees clubhouse Tuesday night looked unusual before they looked ominous. The veteran reliever had just surrendered a game-tying home run, insisted he felt healthy and then moved through a postgame sequence that suggested the club wanted a closer medical look.
The trouble started at Yankee Stadium. Cruz gave up a two-run homer to Jeremy Pena in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 9-7 loss to the Houston Astros after missing with his splitter and leaving a fastball over the plate. Bryan Abreu earned the win, Brent Headrick took the loss and Josh Hader recorded his 19th save.
Cruz’s recent results had already raised questions about fatigue. He entered the night with nine earned runs, four homers and 11 walks allowed over his previous 19 innings. His splitter had also lost some swing-and-miss bite. Still, when reporters asked whether the 36-year-old was dealing with an injury, Cruz gave no indication that he believed a significant problem was developing.
“Yeah, I’m feeling good,” Cruz said.
What happened around that answer became more important by the hour. Cruz left the clubhouse with Yankees head athletic trainer Tim Lentych, while manager Aaron Boone waited for them. Cruz then spoke with a club spokesperson before meeting reporters. By Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees had placed him on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort. Boone said Cruz had felt something on one of his pitches Tuesday and told the staff. The medical picture was still incomplete when the roster move became official.
The move carried more weight than one rough appearance. Cruz had been a regular late-inning option, and the Yankees had not added bullpen help before the trade deadline. With the postseason race tightening and other pitchers already injured, New York had little room to absorb another high-leverage absence.
The medical picture changes after clubhouse
Imaging then produced the development that changed the story. Cruz was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He is seeking a second opinion, and surgery is among the possibilities under consideration.
The sharp shift came from new medical information after Cruz reported discomfort and the Yankees’ training staff examined him.
Before the imaging result was known, Boone said the trainers had already seen enough to recommend an injured-list move.
“Anytime you have that and the trainers feel like an IL situation before getting the results,” Boone said. “So we’ll see what we have and then attack it from there.”
Tommy John surgery is on the table, but no treatment plan had been announced as of Thursday.
Cruz’s decline was visible before diagnosis
The elbow finding followed one of Cruz’s roughest stretches. He is 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances and 54 2/3 innings. His ERA since the All-Star break is 5.52, and opponents have produced a 1.033 OPS against him in August.
Earlier, Cruz had posted a 2.08 ERA through his first 34 2/3 innings. His splitter whiff rate reached 68.9% in June, then fell to 44.4% in July and 42.9% in August before Tuesday.
Cruz framed the slump as part of the season’s grind.
“It’s just that part of the year,” Cruz said. “This is a marathon. There’s ups and downs, like every player has.”
His workload had climbed. Cruz threw 48 innings in 49 games for the Yankees in 2025. His 61 appearances this season rank eighth in the American League. He set career highs with 69 games and 66 2/3 innings for Cincinnati in 2024.
There is no public evidence that workload caused the UCL tear. The injury nevertheless removes one of Boone’s most-used relievers during the stretch run.
A 20-inning split shows how sharply Cruz changed
Cruz’s innings and earned-run totals show how quickly the results shifted. He allowed eight earned runs over his first 34 2/3 innings, producing the 2.08 ERA.
Over his next 20 innings, Cruz allowed 11 earned runs. That equals a 4.95 ERA, more than double the rate from his opening stretch.
His 5.3 walks per nine innings are a career high, while his 2.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio is a career low. Those numbers do not diagnose an elbow injury, but they show the Yankees were getting a less effective version of Cruz before imaging supplied a medical explanation.
Yankees must replace a role, not just a roster spot
The Yankees signed veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer, recalled Elmer Rodríguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, optioned Bradley Hanner and transferred Kervin Castro to the 60-day injured list. Justin Topa had joined the bullpen one day earlier.
Fulmer, the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year, has returned from major elbow surgeries. The immediate question is whether the reshuffled bullpen can absorb Cruz’s leverage innings.
Boone made clear the new arms may not receive a soft landing.
“They’re probably going to jump in the deep end.”
The timing adds pressure to the Yankees. New York entered Thursday at 75-57, second in the AL East and 3.5 games behind Tampa Bay in MLB’s standings. The Yankees beat Houston 9-3 Wednesday, but the postseason race continues without one of their established high-leverage relievers.
Cruz’s partial UCL tear is confirmed, the second opinion is pending and surgery remains possible. The 24-hour swing from “feeling good” now leaves the Yankees waiting for the next medical decision.
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