New York Yankees' pitching coach Larry Rothschild received positive reports on the right elbow of Masahiro Tanaka throughout the offseason. The right-hander suffered a partially torn UCL back in July and has been closely monitored ever since. Tanaka is now having success in spring training.
The 26-year-old has thrown three bullpen sessions this spring with the latest coming on Thursday, during which he tossed 40 pitches and mixed in some breaking balls, including his splitter. It was the greatest pitch variety he's thrown at this point in the offseason as the Yankees work to build up the strength and stamina in his right arm.
"I thought the ball came out of his hand very well," Rothschild said via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "The arm speed was there. You could see he dialed it up today. He's progressed at a routine you'd like him to progress at. Everything was good."
''I was throwing with more force than the last bullpen,'' Tanaka said through an interpreter. ''As far as hitting the spots as location goes, I think it was better than the last bullpen as well. I feel that I'm on track. It gives me confidence that I'm moving in the right direction.''
New York is being cautious with Tanaka's progress because they need him to be able to endure a full season atop the starting rotation. Rothschild previously hinted at the idea of the Yankees using a six-man rotation starting in mid-April because the team has 30 games in 31 days beginning at that point. They need to preserve the health of Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia (knee surgery) and Michael Pineda (previous shoulder/back injuries).
It's promising that Tanaka has been able to throw harder in each bullpen session and now begin to work in more pitches besides fastballs. It's possible that he starts throwing live batting practice as early as next week, but Rothschild and the rest of the coaching staff will taking their time in determining whether he's ready to do that or not. After all, the Yankees postseason chances essentially rest on the shoulders of the starting rotation.
New York invested little money in their roster this offseason (compared to their typical spending sprees) and only added Nathan Eovaldi to their rotation despite injury concerns surround Tanaka, Sabathia, Pineda and Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery). General manager Brian Cashman is clearly hoping these pitchers return to full health and throw to their capabilities.
We'll see how they do as spring training progresses.
