New York Yankees don’t need to rush Masahiro Tanaka back into action
The Yankees want Masahiro Tanaka back on the mound as soon as possible, but they don’t feel any pressure to rush him back into action.
Masahiro Tanaka might be ready to pitch for the Yankees when the 2020 regular season begins, but the schedule sets up nicely for Aaron Boone to bring the veteran along slowly. It’s very possible that Gerrit Cole will make three starts before Tanaka is asked to make his season debut.
The presence of an off-day immediately following the team’s opener against the Nationals gives the team’s starting rotation a ton of flexibility. Boone has already committed to starting James Paxton in the team’s second game of the year. Following Paxton with JA Happ and Jordan Montgomery would then allow Cole to start on regular rest in the team’s fifth game of the season.
The team could then elect to deploy an opener in their sixth regular season contest. Then Paxton, Happ, Montgomery, and Cole could make consecutive starts on normal rest before Tanaka would pitch in the team’s 11th game of the season.
Possible Yankee rotation thru 2 turns: Cole. Off. Paxton. Happ. Monty. Cole. Opener. Paxton. Happ. Monty. Cole. Tanaka. Gets Cole 3 starts in 10 games. Gives Tanaka time to recover, basically miss 1 start and pitch game 11. Opener could be Green or could use Schmidt or King.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) July 16, 2020
Tanaka might push the organization to put him on the mound sooner, but the Yankees are going to err on the side of caution. The front office will be much more concerned with making sure that Tanaka is 100% when he does take the mound than pushing him to make a start before his body is completely ready to go.
It may take Tanaka longer to recover from the mental damage of being struck by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive than to shake off the physical symptoms of his concussion. It’s imperative that he be prepared to challenge intimidating hitters without fear of being struck again before he’s ready to help the Yankees on the field.
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The Yankees are fortunate to have the type of pitching depth required to give a player of Tanaka’s caliber the time he needs to get his body and mind right. Some teams might feel the need to rush him back onto the diamond before he was entirely comfortable. That’s now how the Yankees are going to operate.