Yankees News: James Paxton Placed on 10-Day IL with Knee Injury

The New York Yankees placed starting pitcher James Paxton on the 10-day injured list Saturday with left knee inflammation.

In a corresponding move, New York called up pitcher Jake Barrett from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Paxton left Friday's game against the Minnesota Twins after three innings. He will join fellow Yankees starter Luis Severino on the IL, along with several key hitters, including outfielders Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier.

After exiting Friday's game, Paxton told reporters the knee had been bothering him for some time:

In the third inning especially, Paxton seemed to be struggling to find the strike zone. He gave up two hits, three walks and one run (none earned) in a 6-3 Yankees win.

Overall, the 30-year-old lefty has been a key part of New York's success this season. He allowed 10 earned runs combined over his first three starts but has allowed a total of just three earned runs in four starts since.

Paxton is 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched.

His absence could hit the Yankees hard for several reasons. For starters, he was the de facto ace with Severino on the IL due to shoulder and lat injuries. Also, Paxton was the only power lefty in the rotation, since J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia are largely finesse pitchers.

With Paxton out, Masahiro Tanaka, Happ, Domingo German and Sabathia will primarily make up the starting rotation. Luis Cessa is the top option to fill in as the fifth starter, but he is just 3-11 with a 4.93 ERA in 19 career starts.

Aside from Cessa, the Yankees could piece together games with an opener every fifth day or recall Jonathan Loaisiga from Triple-A.

Despite being ravaged by injuries this season, the Yankees have the third-best record in the American League and are 2.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.