The first step in rehabbing the most important right elbow in the Yankees’ organization began Monday when staff ace Masahiro Tanaka received a PRP injection.
PRP (platelet rich plasma) takes a portion of the patient’s own blood with an above normal platelet concentration to help in the healing of injured ligaments and other injuries.
According to general manager Brian Cashman, Tanaka will rest first, begin an exercise program and then begin throwing. Cashman didn’t have a date for Tanaka to start exercising.
The Yankees have their fingers firmly crossed their 25-year-old $175 million investment’s torn ulnar collateral ligament responds to the rehab process and doesn’t require Tommy John surgery that can take 12-to-18 months from which to recover. They are encouraged he can avoid surgery because the tear was less than 10 percent of the ligament and considered small.
Tanaka, 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 18 starts, was diagnosed with the tear on Thursday, and at the outset the Yankees said at best it would be six weeks before Tanaka returned to the big leagues.
Tanaka is the fourth starter from the Opening Day five-man rotation to suffer a serious injury and land on the disabled list. His absence leaves fellow Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda as the staff’s ace. Behind Kuroda are Shane Greene, Brandon McCarthy, David Phelps and Chase Whitley which is why Cashman has been aggressive looking for starting pitching on the trade market.
CC Sabathia is scheduled to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache Friday in Los Angeles.
ElAttrache, the Dodgers’ team physician, will look at Sabathia’s inflamed right knee and hopefully shed some light on what the next course of action should be.
Sabathia, who hasn’t pitched since mid-May, has been examined by Dr. James Andrews, Yankees physician Chris Ahmad and Keith Meister, the Texas Rangers’ team doctor.
While career-ending micro-fracture surgery is a possibility, that’s not a guaranteed course of action. However, it’s possible Sabathia is done for the year regardless of what the doctors discover.