Yankees’ Marcus Stroman goes on IL with knee inflammation after giving up 5 runs to Giants

“When he came out, he said his left knee was bugging him,” Boone explained. “We got some X-rays here, and I think he went to the hospital to get some more testing. So we’ll see what we have [Saturday].”

Stroman said nothing about the knee prior to Friday’s start, according to Boone.

The 11-year veteran insisted he was a starter during spring training when it appeared he might get squeezed out of the rotation. Working out of the bullpen, he said, was not an option.

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Stroman essentially won a spot in the rotation by default with Gerrit Cole needing Tommy John surgery, in addition to Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt beginning the season on the injured list. Not trading him looked like a smart decision.

However, Stroman hasn’t pitched like an asset worth keeping in his first three starts of the season, compiling an 11.57 ERA and 0-1 record. He hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning while giving up three runs or more in each of his starts. He also issued six walks versus four strikeouts combined in his past two appearances.

Yet the timing of Stroman going on the IL is fortunate. Schmidt is set to return from the shoulder injury that sidelined him to begin the season. The left-hander pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Somerset on Thursday. He allowed four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Boone said last week that Schmidt could rejoin the Yankees’ rotation on Tuesday or Wednesday if all went according to plan, and he now appears to be ready.