New York Yankees relief pitcher Scott Effross just cannot squash the injury bug.
The 31-year-old right-hander came on in relief to start the bottom of the 8th inning during the Yankees’ spring training game against the Minnesota Twins. Effross threw just one pitch, a 75-mph sweeper for a ball, before walking off the mound at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
Effross immediately grabbed his upper leg after making the pitch, indicating it to be a hamstring issue. But the good news for Yankees fans is that Effross’ hamstring injury is unrelated to the injuries that have kept him out for most of the last two seasons.
The Yankees acquired Effross from the Chicago Cubs via a trade midway through the 2022 season. He posted a stellar 2.54 ERA in 60 combined appearances for the Cubs and Yankees that year before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He also suffered a back injury in late 2023 that required him to have a microdiscectomy.
Effross saw some action late last season, pitching 3.1 innings out of the bullpen in September. The Yankees opted not to include him in any of their postseason rosters to allow him more time to recover.
While potentially losing Effross again for any length of time would hurt, the Yankees have a much bigger issue to address in spring training.
