The collapsing Yankees suffered another blow Thursday when Jameson Taillon was placed on the 10-day injured list with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle.
Taillon had been slated to start Sunday against the Mets, but instead joins the list of wounded Yankees.
Aaron Boone said the right-hander suffered the injury at some point during the latter part of his last outing. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Tuesday and was in a walking boot Wednesday and Thursday.
Boone added Taillon was expected to be out of the boot as early as Friday, and the manager wouldn’t rule out Taillon being able to rejoin the rotation when he’s eligible to come off the IL.
“Am I confident? No,’’ Boone said of Taillon only missing one start. “But [the injury] sounds worse than it is. His body is gonna tell us how he is. There’s a chance he only misses one. It could be something that drags on.”
Some of it will come down to Taillon’s pain tolerance.
But the flailing Yankees can’t really even afford to have Taillon out at all — and with the way things are going in The Bronx, optimism should be in short supply.
Taillon’s loss leaves the rotation in even more disarray after Gerrit Cole left his start on Tuesday with a tight left hamstring.
Cole played catch on Thursday, with Boone saying his ace told him it went well.
“He’s pretty confident he’ll be able to go early next week,’’ Boone said.
If he doesn’t suffer a setback, Cole could start Monday or Tuesday, with Luis Gil also due to get another start next week.
The Yankees are already without Domingo German with right shoulder inflammation, and while they had hoped to get Luis Severino back for the stretch run, his comeback from Tommy John surgery has been delayed by a strained groin and, more recently, right shoulder tightness.
Nestor Cortes Jr. started Thursday against the Blue Jays, with Jordan Montgomery opening the Subway Series in Queens on Friday and Corey Kluber going Saturday.
Boone said Sunday’s starter was still undetermined.
“These are important people we lost,’’ Boone said of their injury situation. “We also know we have guys in that room capable of getting this done. We know we need to turn it around and play better. We hope these guys are back in the fold soon.”
Michael King will be activated Friday and is built up to throw about three innings after recovering from a right middle finger contusion. He could be used Friday or Saturday out of the bullpen.
Andrew Heaney is another option as a bulk pitcher or for high-leverage situations, despite some awful results since arriving in a trade from the Angels at the deadline in July.
“The reality is we have to, as much as we’ve leaned on the bullpen this week with shorter outings and a number of guys down,’’ Boone said of considering Heaney. “Other guys have to step up.”
Deivi Garcia was in The Bronx on Thursday as a member of the taxi squad, though Boone did not expect the 22-year-old right-hander to be activated. He is scheduled to start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, but is in the midst of a wildly disappointing season.
Asked if Garcia could be activated over the weekend, Boone said, “Not necessarily. But especially with what we’ve been through of late, anything is possible.”