Injury list ‘very much at play’ for Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman

The hits keep coming for the Yankee Bullpen.

As Chad Green heads towards Tommy John surgery that will end his season, Aaron Boone said the IL is “very much in play” for Aroldis Chapman, although an MRI showed no damage to the left-hander’s Achilles tendon.

“Everything came back nice and clean,” Boone said before the Yankees took on the Orioles on Monday, a day after Chapman scored for the fifth straight game in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader as the Yankees defeated the White Sox were defeated.

Boone said Chapman has Achilles tendonitis and the team will make an IL decision in the coming days based on how Chapman responds to treatment.

The left-hander had already seen his grip on his role weakened somewhat as Clay Holmes continued to excel while Chapman’s speed and command remained issues.

The loss of the dependable Green – who is due to undergo UCL surgery next week and will be out for 12-18 months – and the potential absence of Chapman will impact the pen as a whole. What was once considered an overwhelming strength has seemed a bit more vulnerable of late – although the emergence of Holmes, Michael King and Clarke Schmidt has helped.

But Boone said the back end of the bullpen remains strong.

“We still feel like we have a lot of really good options, a lot of talented, really good pitchers,” Boone said. “We’ve gotten a little bump here in the last few days with injuries [and] battle. I still feel like we’re in a really good place right there and it continues to be a strength for us.”

Boone said he expects to use matchups to determine who would close from game to game.

While the pen has been strong all season and Holmes has been almost unbeatable — he started Monday with 21 straight innings scoreless and Wandy Peralta has not scored in his last seven games and nine innings, but there have been quite a few lately shaky performance among the helpers.

Jonathan Loaisiga’s tough season includes seven earned runs in his last five innings, including four walks. The right-hander’s command has been absent all season after his breakout year in 2021.

Miguel Castro has allowed four runs — three earned — in just one inning in his last three appearances.

And Lucas Luetge also gave up four runs — three earned — in 2 ¹/₃ innings in three appearances, with all three relievers also giving up a homer.

King, meanwhile, is a bit more down to earth with five earned runs in his last nine innings after besting the hitters for most of the first month of the season.

They will also rely on Ron Marinaccio and may have to look to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for backup again if Chapman is out for an extended period.

But the Yankees have also demonstrated the ability to turn little-known helpers into valuable weapons with the majors. David McKay also pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday’s loss to the White Sox before being voted back to SWB.