Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga has averaged just over 98 mph with his sinker. It’s a truly nasty pitch. However, throwing that hard and with that much effort comes with a price: the right-hander (celebrating his 29th birthday today) has logged 65.2 innings in the last two seasons, including just 17.2 in 2023.
This year, Loáisiga was placed on the injured list on April 8th, with right elbow inflammation. For those keeping score at home, that was barely a week after Opening Day. He experienced renewed soreness in late April and, a few days later, underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.