In another blow to the Yankees’ bullpen, Mark Leiter Jr. is going to miss some time.
The right-handed reliever landed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a stress fracture in his left leg.
Leiter said he suffered the break to his fibular head while covering first base on an Elly De La Cruz infield single in the 11th inning of a June 24 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
“I felt a little pop,” Leiter said before Tuesday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners in the Bronx. “We thought it was my calf, because it was responding as a calf.”
Leiter’s timeline to return remains undetermined, with manager Aaron Boone saying the reliever would be further examined on Tuesday night.
“It’s a bone, so the bone has to heal,” Leiter said. “Whatever that looks like, I’m not really sure yet.”
The Yankees called up right-hander Clayton Beeter to replace Leiter on the roster.
Leiter went six days between outings after suffering the fracture, but he had since pitched through it, most recently recording two outs in Sunday’s 6-4 win over the Mets at Citi Field.
He felt he was making progress until the injury flared up while he warmed up during Saturday’s game in Queens.
Sunday’s appearance — during which Leiter hit a batter and issued a walk without allowing a run — marked the first time he felt compromised by the fracture, he said.
“I didn’t really feel like myself,” Leiter said. “I didn’t feel like I could get to what I wanted to be able to get to. Training staff stepped in and said, ‘Let’s make sure we take a look at it and not push it any further.’”
Leiter, 34, pitched to a 3.48 ERA over his first 36 appearances, often in high-leverage spots, but had surrendered five runs in his last four outings, beginning with the game he got hurt.
Overall, he is 4-6 with a 4.46 ERA with two saves and 11 holds.
“Hopefully, this is something that we can get hammered out and get him back to throwing as well as he was the first couple of months of the season,” Boone said.
Leiter is the latest Yankees reliever to go down, joining Fernando Cruz (oblique strain) and Yerry De los Santos (elbow discomfort) on the 15-day IL. Luke Weaver missed nearly three weeks last month with a hamstring strain, while Jake Cousins suffered a season-ending elbow injury.
Entering Tuesday, the Yankees’ bullpen had pitched to a 4.84 ERA over the previous 23 games, a stretch in which the team went 7-16.
In the first 67 games of the season, the Yankees’ bullpen recorded a 3.78 ERA.
“It’s been a rough stretch, obviously, especially with the amount of games, and pitching guys in a lot of games,” Boone said. “You’re leaning on leverage guys, and Mark’s a guy we’ve leaned on a lot in the first half. That’s probably caught up to us a little bit.”
Boone added of the injuries, “It shortens you a little bit, so it makes it a challenge, but it also creates an opportunity for someone that not everyone’s counting on or expecting, necessarily, to step up and secure and grab a role and make real contributions.”
GIL TO THE HILL
A plan is in place for Luis Gil (lat strain) to begin a rehab assignment.
The right-handed starter was scheduled to throw a live bullpen session in Somerset on Tuesday in a final step before he begins pitching in minor-league games.
“Assuming we’re fine there, he’ll start his rehab on Sunday and probably be in that three [inning] and 50 [pitch] scenario,” Boone said.
Boone said he thought Gil’s first start would come with Double-A Somerset but was not certain.
Gil, 27, has been out since spring training, when he was diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain.
The return of Gil would give a boost to a Yankees rotation that is without ace Gerrit Cole, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in March, and Clarke Schmidt, whom Boone said over the weekend likely needs Tommy John surgery as well.
Gil won American League Rookie of the Year last season after going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings.
After throwing his first live bullpen session last month, Gil said he was “very eager” to get back.
“From the moment you go through an injury like this, immediately you want to get back on the field,” Gil said through an interpreter. “It’s about competing, helping your team and being out there with those guys.”
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