With the New York Yankees fighting for their postseason lives, fans could very easily salivate over the thought of getting rookie sensation Masahiro Tanaka back on the mound. Tanaka has worked exceptionally hard to rehab the partial tear in the UCL in his right elbow. At this point, Tanaka appears that will he will avoid Tommy John surgery, and he was actually on track to return to the Yankees’ rotation in early September. That plan, though, has hit a snag.
MLB.com’s Chris Toman announced Friday night that Tanaka has left the Yankees’ current road trip and flown back to New York for some arm-strengthening exercises, basically shutting himself down from baseball activities for a yet unspecified amount of time. Sports Injury Alert provided details of Tanaka’s latest simulated game as well as Yankees hitter Brendan Ryan‘s comments about the “stuff” that Tanaka showed during that throwing session. Here is an excerpt of Ryan’s comments:
“It feels like the velocity is there; some of them are a little bit up, but that speaks to being off for a while. I don’t expect him to be pinpoint or anything like that. It’s just nice to see him throwing without any pain.”
The good news is that Tanaka’s soreness is not in the elbow but more throughout the rest of the arm. While we can expect that from a pitcher recovering from nearly two months away from throwing anything at all, it does bring up the question of whether or not the Yankees should try to get him back on the mound this season.
We all know of Tanaka’s success in his first season in the Major Leagues: 12-4, 2.51 ERA, and 1.01 WHIP through July 8. The Yankees would more than happily welcome this type of performance down the stretch as they try to win the American League’s second wild card position. As of their loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 30, the Yankees are 3.0 games behind the Detroit Tigers for that spot and 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners. What manager and general manager would not want to have Tanaka and his ability in the rotation to help boost his team’s chances of making the postseason?
The problem for the Yankees, though, has not come on the mound. Yankees pitchers have a solid 3.52 August ERA. Looking at August only rather than the entire season serves two purposes. First, the rotation is very different now than when the season started. Only Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda are active. Second, it shows how well the pitchers have performed of late, which is likely how they will continue in September. An ERA of 3.52 should accompany a record better than 15-12, but that is the Yankees’ August record.
The problem is at the plate. In August, the Yankees are 10th in the American League in runs scored with 103. With the names in that lineup, they should score more runs. However, it is tough for players to drive in and score runs when sitting out injured as often as the Yankees’ starters have. Getting their big boppers such as Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann to all stay healthy and on the field every day will do more good than bringing back Tanaka, who has not pitched since July 8, to appear once every five or six days when the team has only 28 games remaining in the season.
As close as the wild card race is, one may consider every win from Tanaka (possibly four or five) crucial. That one would have a valid point. However, the Yankees signed Tanaka for seven years and $155 million. They also paid a $20-million posting fee just for the rights to offer him a contract. They have six more years invested in him, and they would better serve themselves making sure that he is fully recovered before putting him back in a Major League game now.
At this point, Tanaka would have five months to heal before Spring Training begins in February. Should it still turn out that he needs the surgery, then at least all involved would have exhausted every other possibility first.
Masahiro Tanaka is a star, and Yankee fans want to see him pitch. However, they would not want to see him suffer a major blow in trying to come back too soon. The Yankees have the pitching; they need offense. At this point, the Yankees may do well to protect Tanaka’s future — and their own investment — and keep him shut down for the remainder of 2014.
PHOTO CREDIT: G. Fiume, Getty Images Sport
