NEW YORK
— The
Yankees
’ hope is over that
Jake Cousins
will return at some point this season to be the bullpen force that he was last year.
An elbow flexor strain at the spring training led to setbacks and then a recent UCL issue, which is never a good thing.
When an MRI revealed a tear, Cousins sought out more opinions and then weighed his options before making a decision that will end his season before it began and kill at least some of his 2026:
Tommy John surgery.
Cousins will have the procedure on Thursday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Monday in his pre-game media session.
Cousins, who turns 31 on July 14, joined the Yankees organization very early into the 2024 season and had his best year going 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 37 outings with 53 strikeouts in 38 innings.
A cousin of NFL quarterback
Kirk Cousins, the righty pitched well in parts of three seasons with the Brewers from 2021-23, going 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in 51 relief appearances.
After being non-tendered by the Brewers and becoming a free agent following the 2023 season, Cousins signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox in December 2023. He was purchased by the Yankees on March 31, 2031. He pitched two games for the Yankees, one each in the second and third series of the season, then was demoted to Triple-A and stayed with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre until late June.
Cousins worked 1.2 scoreless innings in Toronto in his first game back and stuck with the Yankees for the rest of the season except for a 15-day stint on the IL in September with a right pec strain.
Cousins returned for the playoffs and struggled with a 9.00 ERA in six outings (5 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 5 ER, 4 BB, 7 K).
After this year, Cousins still will be under team control for three seasons.
