{
  "id": 3664473,
  "title": "Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz has partial tear of UCL; Tommy John surgery is on the table",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/yankees-reliever-fernando-cruz-has-partial-tear-of-ucl-tommy-john",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-27T04:12:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-place-reliever-fernando-cruz-193801903.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Yankees placed reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list with a partial tear of his UCL, according to team announcements prior to their game against the Houston Astros. Following a 9-3 victory, manager Aaron Boone disclosed Cruz's elbow injury, suggesting Tommy John surgery could be a possibility. The roster changes included optioning RHP Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalling RHP Elmer Rodríguez from the same team. Additionally, Yankees signed right-hander Michael Fulmer to a major league contract and added him to the active roster. Kervin Castro was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Cruz struggled in the latter part of his season, allowing nine earned runs and five home runs over his last 16 games, causing his ERA to climb from 2.20 to 3.13.",
  "summary": "The Yankees announced a handful of roster moves prior to Wednesday night's game against the Houston Astros, highlighted by placing reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day IL.",
  "key_points": [
    "Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz has partial UCL tear",
    "Possible Tommy John surgery discussed",
    "Brad Hanner optioned to Triple-A, Elmer Rodríguez recalled"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The possibility of Tommy John surgery for Fernando Cruz signals a significant setback for the reliever and may lead to a substantial change in the Yankees' bullpen dynamics.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}