Taillon reinjures right ankle against Blue Jays

TORONTO -- Jameson Taillon's return to the Yankees' rotation lasted only seven outs.

The right-hander exited his start in the third inning of Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre after aggravating his previous right ankle injury. He had been on the injured list with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle.

Taillon’s 38th and final pitch of the evening was a 94.8 mph fastball to strike out Toronto catcher Danny Jansen. Taillon grimaced as he made a short walk around the mound, then gestured toward the Yankees' bench.

“He waved us out, so I figured it had something to do with the injury,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I could tell right away that he had reaggravated it, so it was a quick decision for me to get him out of there.”

The ankle injury sent Taillon to the injured list Sept. 7. He missed 19 team games before returning on Tuesday, having made a pair of Minor League rehabilitation starts to prepare.

“I think he did it a couple of pitches prior [to the Jansen at-bat] and then he felt it go on him,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we’ve got as far as the swelling and everything overnight.”

Injuries have been a recurring theme for the 29-year-old Taillon, once a first-round Draft selection by the Pirates. Taillon missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 while recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in August 2019.

Taillon was relieved by right-hander Michael King, who held Toronto to one run and two hits over 2 2/3 innings while picking up the win.

“I knew Jamo wasn’t built up like a full starter; he wasn’t going to go 100 pitches today,” King said. “I was mentally prepared for it. It is a little weird doing all my warmup throws and getting loose on the actual game field, but I knew I just had to do it.”

If Taillon is unable to continue pitching this season, a potential Yankees postseason rotation could feature Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, Jordan Montgomery and Nestor Cortes.