New York Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka to throw Monday
By Phil Watson
According to a report, injured New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will pick up a baseball for the first time since July 8, when he was knocked out of a start against the Cleveland Indians.
Tanaka was played on the disabled list the next day with a right elbow injury that was diagnosed as a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.
According to ESPNNewYork.com, Tanaka will play catch at Yankee Stadium on Monday to test the injured ligament. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection on July 14 in an attempt to avoid Tommy John surgery.
Before Yankee fans get too excited, however, manager Joe Girardi said it is still unlikely Tanaka would return before September.
"“We’ll see tomorrow what everyone wants to do with him, but as we said, three weeks is the mark,” Girardi said Sunday. “[He told] his doctor he feels good, so we’ll see what we do. We’ll get home and talk and decide what we’re going to do.”"
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Tanaka, who was 24-0 last year for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan, burst onto the American scene, going 11-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 99.2 innings over his first 14 starts after signing a seven-year, $155 million contract last winter.
But Tanaka began to struggle, losing three of his next four starts with a 4.35 ERA before landing on the DL.
However, he told the Yankees that the pain only flared up in the start against Cleveland.
Despite not pitching for almost a month, Tanaka is tied for second in the American League with 12 wins, trailing only the Detroit Tigers’ duo of Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, who each have 13.
In 18 starts overall, Tanaka was 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 1.005 WHIP in 129.1 innings, striking out 135. He was selected for the All-Star Game, but did not participate after going on the disabled list.