After dropping a second consecutive game to the Baltimore Orioles, and falling eight games back of the O's in the American League East standings, the New York Yankees needed a bit of good news. They may have gotten it too, in the form of an optimistic update on injured ace Masahiro Tanaka.
According to reports, Tanaka took a big step in recovery from a partially torn UCL that has sidelined him since early July by throwing 10 pitches off flat ground in the outfield. When asked about returning this season, Tanaka was optimistic.
"I think I have a chance if everything progresses the way I want it to and we want it to," Tanaka said.
Fans have grown accustomed to torn UCLs leading to Tommy John surgery, which usually costs pitchers an entire season if not longer. Tanaka saw several doctors after his diagnosis though, and all of them recommended rehab. He began soft tossing three weeks after a platelet-rich plasma injection, and has slowly been increasing distance.
In the latest session, on flat ground, Tanaka threw all of his pitches and didn't report anything out of the ordinary. "It's feeling really good,'' Tanaka said.
"Really, I didn't feel anything special compared to just regular tossing. I thought everything went well.''
Despite all the positivity, Tanaka's not particularly close to a return if he's able to pitch at all this season. Manager Joe Girardi tempered expectations when asked about Tanaka's progress.
"Today was a step,'' Girardi said. "Now the next step after that would be a bullpen. Then after that you start doing [batting practice]. I don't know when he'll do his first bullpen, but so far, so good.''
Prior to going down with the injury, Tanaka had put himself in the AL Cy Young conversation in his first MLB season. He was 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 135 strikeouts against 19 walks.
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