Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka reports no pain in elbow after returning to the mound
By Hayden Kane
The New York Yankees made the somewhat risky decision to bring back 25-year-old ace Masahiro Tanaka this season. Tanaka made his return to the rotation on Sunday and pitched well as the Yankees went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by a final score of 5-2.
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The risk lies in the possibility of re-injury, something that would likely cost the Yankees Tanaka’s services well into the start of next season. Due to the nature of the injury, a partially torn UCL, it feels like the Yankees are playing with fire by having Tanaka come back to pitch games in a season that most likely has no chance of ending with a postseason appearance.
For his part, Tanaka insists that his pitching elbow is pain-free. He said as much after his start on Sunday (from NJ.com):
"“Overall, I’m pretty excited with how I pitched today,” Tanaka told reporters after a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium……Several days after being diagnosed with a torn UCL, Tanaka received an injection of platelet-rich plasma into his elbow and then didn’t throw for three weeks. His throwing program suffered just one hiccup when he left the team in Toronto to fly back to New York, complaining of general arm soreness.But that’s all behind him now, Tanaka said.“Yes,” he said. “It’s pain-free.”"
If the Yankees are going to pull off the miraculous and reach the playoffs, something that would also require a lot of help from the teams in front of them in the American League Wild Card standings, they will need Tanaka to make another great start this week. The long-term interest is clearly more important, however, so the team will be monitoring his health closely.
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