Loaisiga and Domingo German are the top two candidates to open the season as the Yankees' fifth starter with Luis Severino expected to miss time at the start of the year due to rotator cuff inflammation, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Loaisiga had been speculated as a top option, and manager Aaron Boone confirmed as much Tuesday. The opportunity may not last that long, as Boone sounded fairly optimistic about Severino's injury, but Loaisiga could easily be up multiple times throughout the season whenever a Yankee starter gets injured. Loaisiga threw 24.2 major-league innings last season but has never pitched at Triple-A and has only nine Double-A starts under his belt, so the fact that he's nevertheless mentioned as a top candidate is a testament to how the Yankees feel about his future.