The Yankees are already facing their first injury adversity of the year.

Reliever Jake Cousins has a right forearm strain and could miss the start of the regular season, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed during his first press conference of the spring on Tuesday.

Cousins hasn’t thrown for 15 days, part of a shutdown that’s expected to last three-to-four weeks. He’s progressing well and Boone hopes this is nothing more than a “bump in the road” for the right-hander, but forearm strains can often be a precursor to more bad news for pitchers.

Even if Cousins can clear this hurdle and stay healthy for the rest of the year, he’ll need time to ramp up. It’s not like pitchers are just now starting to throw again after taking all winter off. They’ve been building up to make sure they’re ready for the first workout of the spring on Wednesday and in-game appearances in Grapefruit League play later this month.

“He’s got to clear a lot of hurdles to get back to the point of where he was last year,” Boone said. “We think he’s going to be OK, but technically we’re still in the early stages.”

Cousins posted a 2.37 ERA over 37 games with the Yankees in 2024, his first season in pinstripes. His metrics were outstanding as well. The 30-year-old had elite strikeout, whiff and chase rates while inducing plenty of weak contact.

Still, Cousins wasn’t necessarily a lock to make the Yankees’ Opening Day roster this spring. The Yankees are loaded with relievers at camp and since Cousins has a minor-league option — while others do not — he provides some roster flexibility.

Odds are, the Yankees will carry eight relievers to start the year. That would give them 13 pitchers on their 26-man roster if you factor in a five-man starting staff. Barring injury, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Fernando Cruz, Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill and Mark Leiter Jr. will be included in that group.

Marcus Stroman could be there as well if he isn’t traded and if nobody in the Yankees’ starting staff gets hurt. The Yankees may be forced to bring him along as a sixth starter and long relief option considering he’s making $18 million in 2025.

So, that’s six, if not seven, pitchers that are essentially guaranteed a bullpen spot to start the year. Cousins is a favorite to be in the Bronx on Opening Day as well, especially if he can pick up where he left off in the second half of last season this spring, but there are several additional candidates to make the team.

JT Brubaker and prospect Yoendrys Gómez don’t have minor-league options, so they need to either make the 26-man roster at the end of next month or they’ll be moved. It’s the same situation that infielder Oswald Peraza finds himself in this spring as he tries to compete for playing time at third base.

If the Yankees can find a trade partner for Stroman, perhaps Brubaker emerges as a long-relief option in the ‘pen. He was acquired from the Pirates last March as he worked back from Tommy John surgery and he didn’t make it back the big leagues. That didn’t stop the Yankees from keeping him around through the offseason, reserving a spot for him on their 40-man roster despite plenty of turnover.

Scott Effross and Clayton Beeter are also in contention for a bullpen spot this spring, although both of them have options and can begin the year in Triple-A. Boone revealed on Tuesday that Beeter dealt with a shoulder issue this winter. Like Cousins, he’ll be catching up this spring. Beeter — who was acquired in the Joey Gallo trade a few years back — is further along and back to throwing, though.

Others like Will Warren, Yerry De Los Santos, Michael Arias and Brent Headrick are available on the 40-man roster. Warren is a highly-ranked prospect, but he’s been used almost strictly as a starter throughout his pro career. Headrick, a left-hander, was acquired via waivers from the Twins on Tuesday.

On the non-roster front, a few more lefties could impress this spring. Tyler Matzek, a World Series champion with the Braves in 2021, has a high ceiling if he can distance himself from a few injury-riddled seasons. Southpaws Brandon Leibrandt and Jayvien Sandridge are also invitees at camp.

Geoff Hartleib needs to be included here as well. When Boone was asked Tuesday if there are any under-the-radar pitchers who he is eager to watch this spring, the manager said it was too early to say, but he did briefly drop Hartleib’s name as someone the organization is “excited about.”

That’s a lot of pitchers. Many of those arms are either unproven or haven’t pitched well at the big-league level previously. Many will fizzle out this spring and never throw a pitch with the Yankees in the regular season. The reality here — as proven by Cousins, Hill, Weaver and more over these last few seasons — is that the Yankees have a propensity for bringing the best out of all kinds of arms, even those looking to resurrect their career. The depth is present to offset this type of early-spring injury — even if it escalates for Cousins — and if they can churn out a few more reclamation projects this spring, the Yankees will still have a surplus of arms and tough decisions to make when they break camp in six weeks.