Masahiro Tanaka is expected to participate in all drills in Spring Training as reports indicated the New York Yankees star pitcher is not experiencing pain in his right elbow.
Tanaka, who was acquired by the Yankees last season via a seven-year deal worth $155 million, was limited to just 20 starts last season after sustaining a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Such injury usually requires a Tommy John surgery, but Tanaka and the Yankees decided to look for other options. In his case, the Japanese pitcher underwent rehab in the hope of avoiding the dreaded surgery.
Tanaka managed to return for two more games last season after the rehab. This offseason, the 26-year-old pitcher went to Japan to undergo training program, and experienced no setback.
However, there are still fears within the organization that Tanaka might eventually go under the knife. But for now, Yankees general manager Joe Girardi is not worried and told Mark Feinsand of New York Daily News that Tanaka will not be limited in terms of throwing in Spring Training.
After his first bullpen session on Friday, Tanaka said that he is feeling good and showing no signs of setback, which is a good sign for the Yankees, whose rotation was hit by a multitude of injuries last season.
"I actually feel a little bit better than last year," said Tanaka, who was a leading candidate for the American League Rookie of the Year award before sustaining the injury last season. "My overall body and health is better."
However, Girardi told the New York Times that fans should manage expectations in terms of Tanaka's health, saying that bullpen sessions are way different from pitching in an actual game.
"It's difficult, because he's not pitching in games during the off-season," Girardi said of Tanaka. "The fact that he had no issues during the off-season playing catch and doing those things is a great thing. But again, it's not games. A lot of us feel great in the off-season."
Tanaka, who was also a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award last season, went 13-5 in his rookie year with a 2.77 ERA and 141 strikeouts for the Yankees.
Aside from Tanaka, Yankees starting pitchers CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda also missed a huge chunk of their games due to injuries. As a result, the proud franchise failed to make it into the postseason for the second consecutive year after finishing with an 84-78 record.
