Injury-plagued Yankees place Stanton, Loaisiga on IL

The New York Yankees, already plagued by injuries over the past week, lost two more important pieces on Wednesday.

New York placed outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the injured list prior to Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

The team initially announced that Stanton was suffering from a right calf strain. However, manager Aaron Boone later clarified he's actually dealing with right ankle inflammation, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic.

Stanton was removed from Tuesday's game after appearing to suffer the injury during one of his at-bats and later underwent an MRI. The team is hopeful he'll miss only 10 days of action, Boone added, per Adler.

The former National League MVP had been enjoying a fine start to his 2022 season, hitting .285/.339/.523 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 40 games. Stanton's also become more versatile this season, splitting his time evenly between the outfield and DH for the first time in four years.

Meanwhile, Loaisiga is battling right shoulder inflammation. The injury is similar to what he battled through last season, Boone said, according to Sweeney Murti of WFAN. Boone added he's hopeful the reliever will only miss a couple of weeks.

The 27-year-old had a breakout season in the bullpen last year but has struggled to repeat it so far in 2022, sporting a 7.02 ERA and 1.56 WHIP along with 5.4 walks per nine innings. Still, Loaisiga's injury leaves yet another hole in a bullpen already missing Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green.

Including Stanton and Loaisiga, the Yankees now have 10 players on the IL. Additionally, highly regarded pitching prospect Luis Gil underwent Tommy John surgery this week.

New York did get one piece of good news Wednesday, as outfielder Joey Gallo was reinstated from the COVID-19 IL. The team also recalled pitchers JP Sears and David McKay from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, while catcher Rob Brantly was designated for assignment.