Tommy Kahnle’s 2020 season appears to be over after suffering a UCL injury. Aaron Boone announced that Tommy John surgery is likely.
Tommy Kahnle’s 2020 season is over almost as soon as it started. New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced on Friday night that it’s likely Kahnle will undergo Tommy John surgery after suffering a UCL injury.
Tommy Kahnle is probably headed for Tommy John surgery, Aaron Boone said. “Your heart goes out to Tommy."
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) August 1, 2020
This is just heartbreaking news following a great win over the Boston Red Sox. Kahnle is not only an incredible bullpen weapon but is one of the most likable players in the league. So likable in fact, that I spent the first half of the summer covering him playing “MLB The Show” as if it was an actual game.
It’s hard to say this wasn’t expected though. On Thursday night, Boone stuck with Jonathan Loaisiga in the eighth inning of a one-run game. Loaisiga gave up a two-run homer and was on the hook for the loss before Aaron Judge saved him with a ninth-inning home run.
After the game, Boone was asked why he didn’t go to Kahnle in that situation. Boone answered, “We’ll have something on that tomorrow.”
As if that wasn’t ominous enough, it was reported Friday morning that Kahnle was experiencing tightness in his forearm—a telltale sign of a UCL injury. Sure enough, after the game Friday night, Boone reported that Kahnle’s injury was “serious” and he was likely heading for surgery.
This is a huge blow for the Yankees bullpen. Already operating with Aroldis Chapman sidelined, losing a reliable arm like Kahnle is going to limit Boone’s late-inning options.
For now, all we can do is wish Kahnle the best and hope he has a speedy recovery. With any luck, he’ll be back to his shenanigans in 2021 early enough to contribute to a playoff run.
