Unless Andy Pettitte wakes up Wednesday with a barking left trapezius muscle, the veteran left-hander’s next step coming back from his injury will be jumping off the disabled list this weekend or early next week.
Pettitte threw a five-inning simulated game at the Yankees’ minor league complex yesterday in which he threw 75 pitches.
“He came out well,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of the 40-year-old lefty who hasn’t pitched since May 16 when he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Mariners at Yankee Stadium.
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Pettitte said last week he didn’t expect to need anything more than a simulated game to be ready for major league hitters.
Pettitte is 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA in eight starts this season. He has allowed 49 hits in 49 1/3 innings.
He is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday, but that’s Phil Hughes’ game to start against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees might want to keep him on four days of rest. Because he pitched yesterday, Sunday would be the fifth day for Pettitte. They could push Hiroki Kuroda, last night’s starter, from Sunday to Monday and insert Pettitte in between CC Sabathia and Kuroda.
Waiting until Tuesday to pitch Pettitte in Vidal Nuno’s spot against the Indians at Yankee Stadium would provide more time to make sure the trapezius problem has vanished, but it would also mean working on six days of rest and that could be too much for Pettitte.
When Pettitte is activated, Nuno, the rookie lefty who has pitched very well in two starts, will be the leading candidate to be sent to the minor leagues. Ivan Nova, who is languishing in the role of the second long man in the bullpen, could be sent out where he would be used as a starter and serve as insurance should a major league starter go down.
Nova, who is 2-1 with a 6.11 ERA in five games (four starts), lost his spot in the rotation to David Phelps, Wednesday night’s starter, while on the DL with an inflamed right triceps.