It's been a turbulent week for the New York Yankees, who've dealt with nothing but bad news. It was reported on Thursday that all-star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and will be out for at least six weeks.
After his start against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, Tanaka was concerned about soreness in his right elbow and addressed the team's trainers about the issue. The former Japanese Baseball League ace was then flown to New York for an MRI and was promptly placed on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation. He then traveled to Seattle to visit team doctor Chris Ahmad (the world's top orthopedists are located in Seattle). He also received opinions from the Mets and Dodgers team doctors.
The MRI revealed a partial tear in Tanaka's UCL, which could require Tommy John Surgery. However, all three doctors suggested that the tear could be repaired in six weeks of rehab along with platelet-rich plasma injections. That's the good news. The bad news is that if Tanaka's rehab isn't successful after six weeks, he will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of this year as well as the entire 2015 season. Tanaka signed a seven-year $155 million deal prior to this season after the Yankees paid his Japanese team a $20 million posting fee just to meet with him and talk about a career with the team.
"The ligament tear is considered small, and we have had success with pitchers that have had these, we have actually had them continue to throw without incident and they have gotten back to their normal levels," said Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman, in this ESPN article. "It doesn't rule out the possibility of a Tommy John surgery in a failed attempt."
The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine is currently having their annual meeting in Seattle and Tanaka was fortunate enough to get all of the doctors' opinions in the city. The partial UCL tear in his elbow could have been contributing to Tanaka's slide in his last four starts, in which he posted a 1-3 record and a 4.25 ERA. In his first 14 starts he compiled an 11-1 record with a 1.99 ERA, which was a big part of his all-star campaign. Last year in the Japanese Baseball League, Tanaka amassed a ridiculous 24-0 record and a 1.27 ERA, eventually earning a lucrative contract in the MLB.
The Yankees have already lost starting pitchers CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova for the remainder of the season and Michael Pineda is likely out until at least August. New York is only 3.5 games back of the division-leading Baltimore Orioles, but Tanaka's six-week absence (and possibly beyond) is going to hurt their chances of gaining ground in the American League East.
You can read more about Masahiro Tanaka's partial UCL tear in this MLB.com article.
