Yankees’ Tommy Kahnle, Lou Trivino won’t be ready for Opening Day

TAMPA — Two veteran arms the Yankees expected to have in their bullpen will instead start the season on the injured list. 

Relievers Tommy Kahnle (biceps tendinitis) and Lou Trivino (mild elbow ligament sprain) will miss the start of the season, general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday, though the Yankees hope to get Kahnle back as soon as April and Trivino as early as May. 

Both Kahnle and Trivino are in the midst of a seven-to-10 day shutdown from throwing before they might be able to start building back up. 

“Obviously these are really important guys to our mix, but I feel like from a bullpen standpoint, I like where we’re at as far as who might logically slide in there,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees fell to the Red Sox 11-7 at Steinbrenner Field. 

Among the relievers who could benefit from the two unexpected openings in the bullpen to begin the season are right-handers Greg Weissert, Albert Abreu (who is out of minor league options), Jimmy Cordero and non-roster invitee Ian Hamilton, plus left-hander Matt Krook. 

Kahnle, who had indicated earlier in the week that he might not be ready by Opening Day, has dealt with biceps tendinitis multiple times in his career.

Before signing with the Yankees on a two-year, $11.5 million contract in December, Kahnle had returned from 2020 Tommy John surgery last season to pitch 12 ²/₃ innings with the Dodgers. 

“To be a little slow out of the gates is probably not the worst thing in his case,” Boone said. 

Trivino, meanwhile, came to the organization as part of the ill-fated Frankie Montas trade last season and pitched to a 1.66 ERA across 21 ²/₃ innings as a Yankee.

The right-hander pitched a scoreless inning last Thursday but had not appeared in a game since. 

Boone said he does not believe surgery is on the table for Trivino. 

“His is a little bit longer timeframe,” Cashman said. “But resolvable, nonetheless, but we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer on him. 

Despite the injuries, Boone was hopeful the Yankees had enough relief depth to withstand them. 

“You don’t like to lose anyone,” he said. “But at the same time, especially because we have some guys down there that are out of options that we feel like got a chance to be impact relievers for us, it opens up a couple spots, especially early.”