Yankees top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange injured: Why this matters with New York mired in losing streak
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Carlos Lagrange was placed on the Triple-A injured list Thursday with a shoulder injury and will undergo an MRI, with no return timetable announced and Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan calling it "nothing alarming" while stressing caution.
- In his latest outing Sunday, Lagrange surrendered five runs while recording only two outs, though his fastball velocity held steady at a 98.9 mph average and topped out at 101.0 mph.
- The Yankees have dropped seven straight — their longest losing streak since 2023 — falling to 48-38 while the Rays have won eight in a row to grab a four-game lead in the AL East.
- Stacked Yankees injuries deepen the slump: Max Fried (elbow), Aaron Judge (rib), Giancarlo Stanton (calf), and Trent Grisham (hamstring) are all sidelined, with only Grisham nearing a return.
- New York's bullpen ranks second in MLB with a 3.19 ERA but sits 18th in strikeout rate (22.2%) and 27th in average fastball velocity (93.4 mph) — precisely the profile Lagrange was being groomed to address.
Why it matters: With the trade deadline approaching and the Yankees falling four games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East, losing their top pitching prospect eliminates a potential in-house boost to a bullpen that is statistically elite by ERA but lacks the velocity and strikeouts Lagrange was being developed to provide.
