The New York Yankees placed right-hander Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to elbow discomfort in his pitching arm.
Cruz has struggled since the All-Star break and he served up a two-run homer to Houston’s Jeremy Pena in Tuesday’s 9-7 home loss to the Astros.
After the contest, reporters noted that Cruz left the clubhouse with a team trainer.
Cruz, 36, sported a stellar 2.20 ERA after tossing a scoreless inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 17. Since then, he has served up five homers and walked 10 in 13 2/3 innings while allowing nine earned runs for a 5.93 ERA during the span.
Overall, Cruz is 4-6 with two saves and a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances this season. He is in his second season in New York after spending the previous three with the Cincinnati Reds.
Cruz is 11-21 with four saves and a 4.03 ERA in 251 big league appearances (seven starts).
The Yankees also optioned right-hander Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, recalled right-hander Elmer Rodriguez from the same affiliate and signed right-hander Michael Fulmer and added him to the active roster. New York transferred right-hander Kervin Castro (elbow) to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Fulmer.
Hanner, 27, had a 6.75 ERA in three appearances with New York in his first action in the majors.
Rodriguez, 23, received his first big-league opportunities earlier this season when he went 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts.
Fulmer, 33, was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. He cleared waivers and subsequently chose to be a free agent on Tuesday and the Yankees opted to take a chance on him.
He was American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 and an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2017 before two major arm surgeries derailed his career. Fulmer is 37-50 with 19 saves and a 3.92 ERA in 268 appearances (90 starts) with five teams over nine seasons.
Fulmer gave up two hits over 3 2/3 scoreless innings in three appearances for the Angels.
