ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When the ball hit the mitt it sounded like somebody had thrown it into a couch, but in the rehab program designed for Masahiro Tanaka, that was considered a positive step.
Tanaka, the Yankees’ ace pitcher, stepped on a mound Saturday for the first time since July 8 in Cleveland, when he suffered a small tear in the right ulnar collateral ligament.
“He was fine, but it’s more important how he feels [Sunday],” said pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who, along with trainer Steve Donohue, watched the 25-pitch session very closely. “It’s great he got through [Saturday] and feels good but it’s a daily thing.”
When the tear was discovered, three doctors recommended a rehab program instead of Tommy John surgery, a procedure that takes 12 to 18 months from which to recover.
Surgery still might be in Tanaka’s future, but not before he and the Yankees try the rehab route.
Being able to throw 25 pitches off a mound at low-level velocity, and all fastballs except for a few spinners, is a long way away from Tanaka being ready to pitch in a big league game.
And Saturday looked a lot like the first day of pitchers in catchers in February.
Yet, Rothschild understands every step forward is a reason to believe, even though the real test won’t come until Tanaka pitches in a game.
“He has had no twinges or anything, so you stay optimistic until you know otherwise,” Rothschild said of Tanaka, who played catch for 10 minutes on flat ground before getting on the mound and throwing to bullpen catcher Roman Rodriguez. “Just keep progressing the program, how it’s set up, and go from there.”
With the Yankees very close to dropping out of the AL East race — they started Saturday’s action a season-high eight games back of the first-place Orioles — and in danger of not grabbing the second AL wild card spot, the question about Tanaka coming back to pitch in meaningless games has surfaced.
Tanaka and the team say the Yankees’ place in the standings won’t figure into any decision.
“I think it’s important for the team to fight to the end of the season,” Tanaka said. “If possible, I want to contribute to the end of the season.”
“I think it’s important that we know he is healthy, and the only way to find out is to get him in games,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Had Tanaka not been injured in July, the Yankees wouldn’t likely be in the trouble they are. In 18 games the $175 million investment was 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA, had 135 strikeouts in 129 1/3 innings and was a serious candidate for AL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young award.
Rothschild has worked with pitchers attempting to rehab body parts and looks for more than how much velocity is on the ball.
“Facial expressions to see if his trying to hide something, which is something I don’t think he is doing but you just never know,” Rothschild said when asked what he looks for. “You watch his delivery to make sure he isn’t forcing anything. The most important part early is that he stays smooth and finishes his pitches so we don’t tweak anything. He has had some time off so it’s not only going to be the elbow.”
Rothschild says he has an idea of when Tanaka might get into a rehab game but isn’t ready to make that public. Nor was he willing to guess if Tanaka could be ready to make three September starts for the Yankees.
“I can’t put a time frame on it, we have to pass the hurdles in front of us,” Rothschild said.