Yankees Tanaka Returns to New York with Soreness
Published at(TORONTO) — New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka returned to New York on Friday with what is being called “general soreness”. The right-hander was attempting to return from a torn ligament in his elbow suffered in July.
“I want to be a little bit cautious. I haven’t been throwing for a couple of weeks and then I started throwing again and built up the number of pitches that I’ve been throwing,” said Tanaka via his interpreter, Shingo Horie. “I think that’s the reason why there’s a little bit of extra soreness in the arm itself.”
Tanaka, almost a lock for American League Rookie of the Year before the injury, threw 49 pitches in a simulated game prior to the Yankees taking on the Detroit Tigers on August 28. Following his performance, Tanaka said he was experiencing a feeling of soreness which then raised questions about his return this season.
“I don’t have percentages,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’d like him to pitch for us, too. But as I’ve said all along, this is something we’re either going to know or not know when he gets into competition.
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