One of the Yankees' top bullpen arms could miss Opening Day

For whatever reason, the New York Yankees just can't seem to avoid the injury bug. New York is already without a pair of relievers, Scott Effross and Lou Trivino, who happened to miss all of last season due to injury. It looks like they might get some company on the IL.

Tommy Kahnle, one of the Yankees' best relievers, is dealing with a shoulder injury that might cost him the beginning of the season. This is a tough blow for the Yankees, but not one that should be too detrimental if he's able to pitch in games during the first week of the season.

Tommy Kahnle could join pair of other Yankees relievers on IL and miss Opening Day

Injuries are nothing new for Kahnle who combined to make 14 appearances in a three-season stretch from 2020-2022 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. Even last season the right-hander had a late start to his season due to right bicep tendenitis.

Despite the early-season injury, Kahnle was extremely effective for New York in the 2023 campaign, posting a 2.66 ERA in 42 appearances and 40.2 innings of work. He held opposing hitters to a .183 batting average against and recorded 14 saves serving as a set-up man for All-Star closer Clay Holmes.

Losing Kahnle, a pitcher who, when healthy, has been nothing short of dominant absolutely hurts, but the Yankees are a team that consistently runs out a bullpen full of depth. Even if the names are underwhelming on paper, pitching coach Matt Blake finds a way to get the most out of them.

Holmes is still there to close games, and the Yankees also have guys like Jonathan Loaisiga, Caleb Ferguson, and Ian Hamilton capable of pitching late in games for Aaron Boone. As of now, the Yankees should be mostly fine without Kahnle, but any sort of setback can potentially be bad news. Let's hope he's out there sometime early on this season.