Yankees reliever Darren O'Day suffers seemingly 'significant' hamstring injury

Wednesday night, the Yankees placed reliever Darren O’Day on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Manager Aaron Boone provided an update Thursday morning, telling reporters, including Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media, it appears to be a “significant” injury. O’Day, who suffered the injury during a recent pregame workout, was sent for an MRI.

The news is particularly concerning given the righty’s history. O’Day underwent season-ending surgery to repair a strain in the same hamstring while with the Orioles in 2018. Until the MRI results come back, it won’t be known whether he’ll require a similar procedure this time around, but it unfortunately seems there’s a possibility he’ll require an extended absence.

It’s the second major injury O’Day has dealt with this season. He suffered a right rotator cuff strain that landed him on the IL in early May and had only just returned last week. That has kept the veteran submariner to 10 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball this season. When healthy, O’Day has generally been highly effective. He was one of the game’s best set-up men for much of his time in Baltimore and pitched to a 1.25 ERA/2.60 FIP across 21 2/3 frames with the Braves between 2019-20.

If the hamstring injury winds up costing O’Day much or all of the remainder of the season, he’ll be faced with a tougher decision this winter. The 38-year-old signed a one-year guarantee with the Yankees in late January that contained a $1.4M player option ($700K buyout) for 2022. O’Day would’ve been highly likely to decline his end of the deal with a healthy, typical season but a significant injury might change that decision. If O’Day declines his end of the option, the Yankees can trigger a $3.15M club option to keep the righty in the fold next year.