Guardians postseason foe to miss upcoming series due to hamstring injury

The Cleveland Guardians have seen plenty of Luke Weaver over the past six months. 

They won’t get a chance to add to that during their series against the Yankees this week, however, as the Yankees placed Weaver on the injured list on Tuesday due to a hamstring injury that's expected to keep him out four-to-six weeks.

Luke Weaver to miss upcoming series due to hamstring injury

Weaver pitched in four games in last year’s American League Championship against the two teams and found a way to make an impression in a variety of ways. 

After tossing a scoreless inning in the Yankees Game 1 win, he allowed a run in an inning in Game 2. 

Then he allowed a home run in Game 3 that no one in Cleveland will be forgetting any time soon. 

Things were a bit different the next time he was on the mound, however, as he pitched two scoreless innings to close out New York’s series win.

Weaver’s allowed two runs in 8 2/3 regular season innings against the Guardians, and has allowed three runs in six postseason innings against the Guardians. 

He pitched two scoreless innings against Cleveland in their April series against the Guardians at Progressive Field. 

His postseason usage last year was a result of his strong performance during the regular season. Weaver finished 2024 with a 2.89 ERA in 84 innings with a strikeout rate of 31% and finished the year as the Yankees closer. 

He opened this year in a setup role again after the Yankees signed Devin Williams, but he supplanted Williams as the team’s closer and had a 1.04 ERA in 25 2/3 innings prior to getting hurt. 

Weaver sustained the injury while warming up in the Yankees’ game against the Dodgers on Sunday. 

It’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees handle their closer duties while Weaver is out. Weaver pitched the ninth inning in two of three games against the Guardians earlier this year (the third game was a blowout), which was right around the time that the team demoted Williams from the closer role. 

Williams entered that series with a 7.88 ERA that ballooned to 10.00 after he laid an egg in his outing against the Rays after it, but he’s posted a 3.29 ERA in his 15 appearances since. He’s held the opponent scoreless in 10 of his last 11 outings. 

The Yankees also have some other options if they don’t feel comfortable giving the ninth inning to Williams. 

Mark Leiter Jr. has pitched well this year and already has two saves, but he surrendered the game-winning hit in one of the Yankees’ games against the Guardians earlier this year.

Another option could be Frenando Cruz, who was activated off the injured list on Tuesday. 

Cruz’s addition to the roster came at the expense of old friend Carlos Carrasco. The Yankees added Carrasco to the roster during their series against the Dodgers since they needed some pitching depth, but they placed him on outright waivers on Monday before designated him for assignment on Tuesday.

While the Yankees have the second-best record in the American League, they have the 13th-best bullpen ERA in baseball (3.70) one year after having the sixth-best bullpen ERA in baseball. 

The Yankees’ bullpen was already a little vulnerable, and it’ll be even more vulnerable this week thanks to Weaver’s absence. 

We’ll see if the Guardians will be able to take advantage.