Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia made 28 total starts for the New York Yankees in 2014. That will have to change in 2015 if the Bombers want a legitimate chance of making the postseason.
Right now all is looking up in terms of the health of both these starters. Tanaka missed over two months last season because of a partially torn UCL, which he decided to rehab rather than undergo Tommy John surgery. On the other hand, Sabathia dealt with a degenerative knee issue and was forced to go under the knife.
On Thursday Tanaka made his spring training debut and pitched two scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves in the Grapefruit League. The Yankees have been taking their time with Tanaka's rehab because their plan was to slowly build up the strength in his right arm to maximize the chances of him lasting the entire 2015 season.
The right-hander's long-term health is largely a mystery.
But his first spring start was promising after showing he was able to max out at 94 miles per hour and throw 15 of his 19 pitches for strikes. He struck out two batters, forced four groundouts and even continued to throw more pitches in the bullpen because his outing went so quickly.
"He looked great, kind of picking up right where he left off last year," catcher Brian McCann told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "His sinker tonight was what impressed me the most. He had good downward action on it. His split was there, and he had a couple of quick innings. He was putting the ball where he wanted."
As for Sabathia, he endured his first "live action" since undergoing knee surgery and threw 29 pitches in a simulated game at the Yankees' spring training complex on Thursday. Both the left-hander and manager Joe Girardi were pleased with the results, so Sabathia will take the next step and make his spring training debut on Tuesday.
Despite the late start in getting back to the mound this year, Sabathia believes he has enough time to get his arm strength and stamina ready for the regular season.
"I'm not hurting," Sabathia told Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. "I feel good. That's the only way I'm judging myself."
