Masahiro Tanaka made it through his first simulated game in one piece on Saturday, but his elbow remains a huge question mark. And that won’t change anytime soon.
“We’re going to know more as we progress,” pitching coach Larry Rothschild said after the 35-pitch session Saturday. “We’re not really going to know until he’s pitched some innings. But it’s all positive right now.”
It was Tanaka’s third time on a mound since suffering a partial ligament tear in his right elbow, and he has had no setbacks. He was able to throw his splitter, which he still proclaimed to be rusty.
“I’m not scared at all when I’m throwing the splitter,” Tanaka said through an interpreter before the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the White Sox at the Stadium. “I’m just being cautious [with] it. I’m thinking about the elbow when I’m throwing.”
Asked if being cautious meant he was holding back, Tanaka said, “I’m not saving anything when I throw each pitch.”
“Guys were talking about how hard it was to pick up the split and arm motion, which is a good sign because it means he’s not babying it,” manager Joe Girardi said.
The Yankees are hoping this rehab program works and Tanaka is able to avoid Tommy John surgery — which, at this point, would cost him all of 2015 .
Girardi defended the decision to opt for rehab over immediate surgery and, like others within the organization, said he believes it’s too soon to know if Tanaka ever will need the procedure.
“A lot of guys go through this, and they pitch for a substantial amount of years before it completely tears and you have to have surgery,” Girardi said. “Most people try to rehab this way. It’s only when the tear is substantial that you operate. So for us to do anything different to me would be silly. Maybe it doesn’t tear … until 2018. You have to take this opportunity to try to do it the conservative way because it’s not a complete tear.”
But like the rest of the organization, the manager will be holding his breath watching Tanaka.
“I don’t know how it’s not in the back of your mind,” Girardi said. “The guy has a little ligament issue. Obviously it’s going to be in the back of your mind. The big thing is to get through this year and if you can get through this year, you feel like, ‘OK, we’re out of the woods.’ But until you get through this year, you’re going to think about it.”