As the Yankees and Orioles continue their series tonight at Camden Yards, New York has received a good injury update while Baltimore did not. Additionally, the New York Mets are mulling what to do with Matt Harvey during his rehab process.
The Yankees may slowly get pieces of their rotation back in time to make a final push for the postseason. Michael Pineda returns on Wednesday night to face the Orioles after making only four starts this season. It was also reported on Wednesday that Masahiro Tanaka might be able to pitch again this year, most likely in September if it were to be true. The Japanese phenom threw ten pitches off flat ground on Wednesday evening just before tonight's game. He hasn't pitched since July 8, but he began soft-tossing on August 4 as a part of his rehabilitation.
"It's feeling really good," said Tanaka, in this ESPN article, after he threw ten fastballs from a distance of 60 feet. "Really, I didn't feel anything special compared to just regular tossing. I thought everything went well."
Meanwhile, the Orioles were hit with some bad news regarding third baseman Manny Machado. The 22-year-old was placed on the disabled list retroactive to Tuesday, August 12, due to a right knee ligament sprain he suffered on Monday. The team says there is no timetable for his return, and in the meantime he'll be replaced by Cord Phelps who was called up from Triple-A Norfolk. This will be Machado's second stint on the disabled list this year.
As the Yankees look to keep Tanaka's rehab moving along, the New York Mets are looking to slow Matt Harvey's down. It was reported on Tuesday that the Mets might be inclined to keep Harvey from pitching in a game-like environment before spring training after they witnessed starter Jeremy Hefner suffer a setback in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. Harvey received the same procedure last year, which forced him to miss the entire 2014 season, and the Mets want to make sure their ace is ready for 2015. General manager Sandy Alderson said nothing is set in stone yet, but he hopes Harvey will consider such a prudent decision.
While the Yankees and Orioles need their stars on the field as soon as possible, the Mets can afford to wait until 2015. Check out the latest baseball news on MLB.com.
