YANKEES SHELVE

Wait till next year to see if hurler

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Late Friday night, after Michael Pineda had put a scare into the Yankees by saying he had a sore shoulder, GM Brian Cashman seemed to know where the questions were leading: Did he get damaged goods when he traded Jesus Montero to the Mariners for Pineda?

There was talk that Pineda had a tired arm late last season, as he posted a second-half 5.12 ERA and the Mariners gave him extra rest in September to limit his innings total to 171.

So when a question was posed to him about a late-season dropoff in Pineda’s velocity, Cashman was quick to cut it off.

“Only in his last start,” he said. “After he sat, I think, three weeks. Other than that, I think his velocity was essentially the same. He averaged like 94 (mph). Then they sat him due to a strict innings (limit). After the layoff, he didn’t have velocity in that game.”

Actually, the Mariners spaced out Pineda’s three starts in September, giving him six days’ rest for starts on Sept. 3 and 10, and then 10 days’ rest before his final start on Sept. 21.

Nevertheless, fangraphs.com supports Cashman’s argument, showing that Pineda’s velocity, which ranged mostly from 93 mph to 96, and occasionally hit 97 and 98, didn’t change significantly until that final start. On that night he pitched four innings against the Twins, giving up six hits and two runs, while walking two and striking out two, and his fastball averaged 91 mph.

In any case, Cashman insisted the Yankees had done their due diligence. And as in all trades for pitchers, Pineda underwent a physical that included an MRI on his pitching arm, and, according to Cashman, the MRI came back clean.

Still, Pineda’s sore shoulder, combined with his lower-than-expected springtraining velocity, is naturally going to raise new questions about Cashman’s decision to deal Montero.

But that’s not really a fair second-guess. As impressive as Montero was with his bat when he was called up last September, I thought it was a great trade for the Yankees when it was made, i n part because they needed a No. 2 starter more than a young DH, and in part because the exorbitant cost of pitching has made acquiring young arms with Pineda’s potential a rarity these days.

Indeed, many baseball people were stunned that Cashman was able to pull off the deal for Pineda, and Yankee players were thrilled. Alex Rodriguez texted teammates immediately the night of the trade, while Derek Jeter went so far as to say he was "shocked’’ by it — and when do you ever hear Jeter say he is shocked by anything?

Facing him just once last season had convinced them that Pineda was going to be an ace. The problem, of course, is that the Yankees haven’t seen the same Pineda this spring.

And now, after an MRI on Saturday showed that Pineda has shoulder inflammation, which the Yankees are calling tendinitis, this is starting to seem more and more like the Phil Hughes situation a year ago, when Hughes showed up for spring training out of shape, lost his fastball, spent three months on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation and never did look quite right.

Likewise, I could see this turning into a lost season for Pineda. The Yankees