Michael Pineda planned to start Wednesday night’s game with pine tar affixed to his body.
According to a person who saw the Yankees pitcher preparing to face the Red Sox after warming up in the bullpen, Pineda put the pine tar on the three-quarter sleeve of his left arm, The Post has learned.
However, before Pineda took the mound for the bottom of the first, he either changed his mind or was told to remove it. He worked the inning without the pine tar that increases the grip on the baseball.
Of course, after getting spanked for two runs and four hits in the opening frame, Pineda decided the ball was too slick because of the 50-degree temperature and 24 mph winds and applied pine tar to his right neck in between the first and second frames.
He did so knowing the world knew he was using pine tar when he faced the Red Sox on April 10 in The Bronx.
MLB handed the Yankees’ fifth starter a 10-game suspension Thursday that started immediately once Pineda declined to appeal the sentence.
“No, I know I made a mistake,’’ Pineda said when asked about appealing the suspension. “I talked to [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and Joe [Girardi] and said I was sorry and I apologized to my teammates. I made a mistake.’’
“It was appropriate and expected,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of the suspension.
Pineda said he didn’t use pine tar when he pitched in Seattle, but he also said it was dirt on his right hand against the Red Sox in The Bronx.
In the aftermath of the dumb move by Pineda, the Yankees understood there would be ramifications for his foolishness.
Thursday, they started to pay the bill. Right-handed reliever Preston Claiborne, who worked two innings Wednesday night, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Because the Yankees used four relievers Wednesday, they needed to fortify the bullpen and promoted Shane Greene and Bruce Billings from SWB.
Those promotions meant the Yankees had to option reserve infielder Dean Anna to SWB, which means Yangervis Solarte is the backup shortstop for 10 games. Solarte’s best position is second base and he has played well at third, but asking him to play short might be a stretch.
Pineda will continue to be paid and the Yankees will have to play with 24 players instead of the full complement of 25.
However, the crime didn’t cost Pineda a dime since he will be paid throughout the suspension. Had he been docked, Pineda would have lost $29,398.91 of his $538,475.00 salary.
“I made a mistake again, put it where everybody could see it,’’ said Pineda, who is 2-2.
While Girardi didn’t anoint David Phelps his fifth starter — and the Yankees don’t need one until May 3 against the Rays because of Monday’s day off — that’s the way to bet it.
“That would be the way to lean,’’ Girardi said of the right-hander who replaced Pineda Wednesday night. “I think he could give us 75 pitches.’’
According to Pineda, after the first incident Girardi talked to him but spoke in English instead of using an interpreter, which would have made it easier for Pineda to understand.
“I know there’s the assumption that Michael understands the questions always fully. I’m going to stick to it: The conversations, and who’s in the room when you have the conversations, you’re probably not going to be privy to,’’ Girardi said. “But my coaching staff, the front office, myself, we’re very thorough. We make sure that when we want to get a message across, there’s nothing lost in the translation.’’
Following the ejection, the Yankees offered Pineda a translator to address the media and he rejected the idea. He also spoke Thursday without a translator.
Girardi wasn’t sure what Pineda is able to do while serving the suspension, outside of throwing in order to be ready May 5, when he is eligible to return.
Asked if MLB could implement a legal substance to help pitchers get a better grip, Girardi encouraged the idea.
“I’ll tell you what, it would be a great time for someone to start looking at that,’’ he said.
Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff