Frustrated Bomber Kahnle says he’s ‘sick of rehabbing’
TAMPA — After throwing on Thursday and Saturday, Tommy Kahnle is no closer to returning.
The right-handed Yankees reliever has been dealing with biceps tendinitis. He’s endured pain and discomfort there in the past, as recently as 2018.
“Haven’t felt that good, so not sure what the next steps are,” Kahnle said Sunday morning. “But I know we’re regrouping today and figuring out where we’re going from there.
“I know that it’s the same spot and it just hasn’t cleared up yet. So I’m just gonna buy time and I’ll be back when I’m ready.”
Kahnle didn’t have an updated timeline for his recovery, nor did he know if he’ll need to undergo more tests. Aaron Boone, meanwhile, acknowledged that the pitcher’s rehab has been delayed.
“It slows his clock a little bit until he can throw, bounce back and keep building,” the manager said Saturday. “Hopefully not a lot, but at least a little bit.” Kahnle is on his third stint with the Yankees after inking a two-year, $11.5 million deal over the offseason. The club drafted the Latham, N.Y. native in the fifth round in 2010, but the Rockies scooped him up in the Rule 5 draft three years later. Colorado dealt Kahnle to the White Sox in November 2015, and Chicago sent him to the Yankees in the July 2017 trade that also brought Todd Frazier to the Bronx and reunited David Robertson with the pinstripes.
Kahnle finished that season by recording a 2.70 ERA over his first 32 big-league games in the Yankee organization. But his biceps acted up the following season, and he spent some time in the minors while tallying a 6.56 ERA over 24 MLB games. Kahnle bounced back in 2019, registering a 3.67 ERA over a career-high 72 games, but his second Yankees stint ended in disaster the following year.
Kahnle pitched in just one game in 2020, underwent Tommy John surgery that August, and missed the entire 2021 season after signing a recover-and-return contract with the Dodgers. He logged a 2.84 ERA over 13 games for Los Angeles in 2022, in addition to allowing three earned runs over two postseason innings.
“I’m sick of rehabbing,” said Kahnle, who’s pitched in just 14 regular-season contests since 2020. “(The biceps) definitely got better. But I guess it just wasn’t ready yet.”