Wow. Within moments of each other, two relievers who were traded by the Cubs at the deadline to playoff teams have been left off their teams’ postseason roster due to injuries. First it was David Robertson and his calf injury celebrating a Bryce Harper homer, and now it’s Scott Effross with a much more serious injury.
Effross, whom the Cubs traded to the Yankees for Hayden Wesneski, will need Tommy John surgery according to Jack Curry:
The trade was already looking dodgy for the Yankees after Wesneski’s late-season breakout for the Cubs, but this is a blow on another level. Effross, 28, was acquired in the deal for his many years of team control, yes, but it was clear that the Yankees really wanted an impact reliever for THIS playoff run. And now they will be without Effross for this one and probably next year’s run, too.
At a human level, you hate this for Effross, who worked his way into being a big league contributor as a sidearm reliever after years of not-quite-making-it as a more traditional starting pitcher. Hopefully he comes back successfully after next season, and resumes a quality relief career. The guy was so good and so fun to watch.
Effross made only 13 appearances for the Yankees after the trade, throwing 12.2 innings of 2.13 ERA ball. A few weeks after the trade, Effross went on the injured list with a shoulder strain, from which he returned about a month later. He made five appearances down the stretch after that injury, with his final outing, a perfect inning of work, coming on October 3.