MLB

Yankees GM says Mets ‘abused’ Feliciano

Pedro Feliciano (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)

Why wait until the Subway Series? The Yankees and Mets are already sparring.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the Mets “abused” reliever Pedro Feliciano, whom the Yankees signed last winter.

Feliciano is on the disabled list with a problem in the muscle behind his left shoulder, confirmed by an MRI exam. He made a major league record 266 total appearances for the Mets over the last three seasons, causing some to speculate his current arm trouble could be from overuse.

Cashman was not ready to go that far, but acknowledged the way the Mets used Feliciano is troubling.

“The concern is based on the MRI,” Cashman said before the Yankees’ 10-6 victory over the Tigers yesterday. “The [Mets’] use pattern was abusive, but the MRI itself shows what he’s got. That leads us to believe all of this is resolvable and it’s not a major issue. It’s just a timing issue.”

In Miami, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen fired back.

“They didn’t know that when they signed him?” Warthen said. “I feel badly that someone feels that way, but that was part of the reason we decided not to re-sign him, because we knew we had used him 270-something times in the last three years.”

The 34-year-old left-hander has been shut down since early last week. He plans on playing catch on Wednesday. Cashman said it will probably be another two weeks after that before he can return.

The Yankees signed Feliciano to a two-year, $8 million deal with a club option for 2013. Feliciano felt tightness in his left shoulder early in March, and has not appeared in a game since March 9.

When asked if he believes his arm problems are a result of overuse, Feliciano said: “I don’t think so.”

Before yesterday’s game, Cashman was asked about whether he’s concerned the amount of games Feliciano has pitched may be catching up to him.

“He was abused,” Cashman said referring to Feliciano’s 92 appearances in 2010, 88 in 2009 and 86 in 2008. He is the second player in baseball history to appear in at least 85 games in three consecutive seasons. The other is Paul Quantrill, who did it from 2002-04, the last season with the Yankees.

Cashman said the Yankees had reservations about signing Feliciano, but felt he was their best option.

“It’s a thin market when you’re out there looking for lefties and he’s one of the better ones out there,” Cashman said. “You don’t typically run to sign up guys that have been used like that.”

Additional reporting by

Mark Hale in Miami