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Pedro Martinez predicts that Masahiro Tanaka won’t get through the season uninjured

By Stanford Crissey

Mar 31, 2015; Fort Myers, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) throws a pitch in the third inning of the spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at CenturyLink Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2015; Fort Myers, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) throws a pitch in the third inning of the spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at CenturyLink Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pedro Martinez says Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka is “not completely healthy right now”

Predo Martinez is one of the greatest pitchers ever to play the game of baseball. His 1999 season has a strong argument as the greatest season a pitcher has ever had (unless it’s Martinez’s own 2000 season). He’s an outspoken man who says what he wants, when he wants. And when Pedro talks, you listen.

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Martinez, the legendary former ace pitcher and current MLB Network analyst, went on the SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio show “Schein on Sports.” There he tackled a few topics, most notably Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka suffered a torn UCL last season, but eschewed surgery in favor of rest and rehab, and was back to pitching in September. Nevertheless, he has not exactly looked like his old self this spring, and his velocity is down. Martinez does not think this bodes well for Tanaka’s season.

“I don’t see him healthy all year and I don’t see him healthy right now,” Martinez told Adam Schein on the radio.

“I’ll be brave enough to say he’s not completely healthy right now… Unless they come up with a magic trick to actually get him better during the season, I just don’t see him completely healthy all year,” said Martinez.

Martinez sees Tanaka’s fastball velocity and throwing motion as the main signs that something’s wrong with the Japanese ace.

“Tanaka’s not healthy right now because I believe Tanaka is hesitant to let it go,” he said.

“He’s hanging all those breaking balls he’s throwing. The only pitch he’s committing to is the split-finger and his problems are actually in a place where you don’t need to put any more stress, which is the elbow. And he’s hesitant. He’s hesitating to throw the fastball and he’s hanging every breaking ball he throwing out there. Plus, his velocity is not there yet.”

Martinez added that losing Tanaka would be devastating for the Yankees.

Tanaka has been the talk of Yankees’ camp, once everyone is finished talking about Alex Rodriguez. (Which, admittedly, doesn’t leave them much time to talk about Tanaka). He stormed onto the scene last year, posting a 2.77 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 136 innings, and justifying every bit of the hype that followed him over from Japan. But he hasn’t looked like that guy in spring training so far, and though he returned to the mound last September, the jury’s still out on whether rest and rehab are as functional long-term as Tommy John surgery would be.

Like Martinez says, Tanaka is the key to the Yankees’ season, and if they lose him, as Pedro believes, it won’t bode well for their fortunes in the AL East.

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