UPDATE: Manager Joe Girardi announced Tanaka will start on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners.
Masahiro Tanaka struggled in his second rehab start on Wednesday and it was initially believed his return to the New York Yankees' roster would be delayed. Manager Joe Girardi made everything clear on Thursday.
Tanaka last pitched on April 23 and was placed in the disabled list on April 29 with tendinitis in his right wrist and a mild forearm strain. The team set his tentative return for the first week of June and that's what looks to be the case.
"Tanaka is flying out West tonight," tweeted Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Girardi said that as long as he feels well, Tanaka will make a start in Seattle. Girardi said Tanaka would start either Tuesday or Wednesday, with a pitch count of about 80."
It was said Tanaka would be making "at least" three rehab starts, but after one good one and one poor one he's already on his way back to New York. Tanaka faced Boston's Triple-A affiliate on Wednesday and one of their outfielders, Jackie Bradley Jr., said it appeared as if the right-hander was trying to get his pitch count up and use a variety of his pitches rather than focusing on his overall performance. The 26-year-old surrendered three earned runs on four hits and two walks in three innings of work, but managed to notch four strikeouts while getting his pitch count up to 62.
"When you send a big-league pitcher, someone who has had a ton of success in Japan and had success here last year, to a Triple-A game, you don't always see the same guy that you would see at the big-league level," Girardi told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. "They don't prepare the same exactly because they don't have all the scouting reports and the video tape. The big thing is we have to know how he feels."
"He said he felt good today, so you've got to believe him. And I think if he wasn't throwing 93, and you saw things where his slider wasn't sharp, you'd think: OK, maybe he's not being honest with us. But with those things, I think you have to believe him."
Tanaka's fastball was consistent and all of his strikeouts came on off-speed pitches, indicating his arm likely feels good and is ready to go - for now. However, the team is still on their toes regarding the long-term health of Tanaka's arm because the partial UCL tear he suffered last July could resurface and perhaps eventually require Tommy John surgery.
Additionally, the return of Tanaka will not immediately solve the Yankees' pitching woes. He'll be limited to 80 pitches, which will not help the overworked bullpen. New York's starters have been unable to last deep into games and it has put a strain on the club's relievers, contributing to their slide of losing 10 of 11 games from May 12-24.
The Yankees are counting on Tanaka to pitch like he was last season before going down with the UCL injury, but nothing is guaranteed. We'll get a glimpse of him next week for the first time since late April.
