Masahiro Tanaka is nearing return from an elbow injury as New York Yankees news and rumors update indicated that the ace pitcher experienced no setback after a simulated game.
Tanaka said in an interview with the NY Daily News that he felt good after throwing 45 pitches in three innings of a simulated match unlike after a similar session on August 28 where right hander experienced general soreness.
"I felt good out there," said Tanaka in a Yankees news and rumors interview. "Arm feels really good."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi was also pleased with what he saw from Tanaka, saying that the 25-year-old looked way better than the simulated game in Detroit late last month.
"I thought he was better than Detroit," Girardi said. "I thought his stuff was sharper, I thought there was more velocity, I thought there was better command."
According to Mark Townsend of Yahoo Sports, Tanaka could pitch in a minor-league game on Sept. 15 before considering making his return either on Sept. 20 or 21. It will also make the Japanese pitcher available for their final regular-season meeting against the Boston Red Sox barring any major setback.
Pitching in the major league again will be critical on the Yankees' approach on Tanaka's injury. The Yankees decided to avoid a Tommy John surgery to repair the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, but Girardi admitted that the dreaded procedure is not yet out of the picture especially if he suffers setback after his return.
"If he pitched in a big league game or two and felt good, you wouldn't do surgery on a guy that felt good, that's the bottom line," Girardi said in the Yankees news and rumors update. "Our hope is that we get through this and that he's a pitcher for us next year. For us to operate on a guy that feels good would be silly."
Tanaka went 12-4 last season with a 2.51 ERA and 135 strikeouts before being shut down on July 8 due to elbow soreness. Had he managed to stay healthy all-season long, the Itami, Japan native could have been a run-away winner of the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year award.
