Yankees place reliever Jonathan Loáisiga on 60-day IL

The Yankees suffered a significant blow to their bullpen after Jonathan Loaisiga was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain just hours before New York's home opener Friday.

Loaisiga, 29, is no stranger to arm troubles. He missed time over the past two seasons with shoulder and elbow issues, including inflammation and bone spurs in his elbow last season that limited him to just 17 appearances.

The injury comes at an especially unfortunate time for the Yankees' bullpen, which goes into the home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 1.27 ERA, fourth lowest in the league.

Loaisiga was a key part of that bullpen effort, pitching four scoreless innings in three of the first seven games, striking out three batters and adding a walk.

A native of Nicaragua, Loaisiga has spent all seven seasons of his career with the Yankees.

He's notched an overall record of 19-11 in 219.2 innings pitched in 163 games (11 starts). He has a career ERA of 3.44, with 207 strikeouts and 72 walks.