Tanaka time today
SEATTLE — Masahiro Tanaka makes his longawaited return from the disabled list on Wednesday, adding what Joe Girardi hopes is a dominant arm to the team’s starting rotation.
Tanaka is scheduled to throw 80-85 pitches against the Mariners, making his first start since April 23. Tanaka missed the past 32 games with wrist tendinitis and a mild forearm strain, but Girardi feels confident that the righthander is healthy and ready to go. “We expect him to pitch like he did his last couple of outings,” Girardi said before Tuesday’s game. “Obviously he’s not quite as built up as he was before he got hurt. . . . We saw him pitching well before he got hurt. Tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll see what happens.”
Tanaka shut out the Rays over seven innings on April 18, then held the Tigers to one run over 6.1 innings on April 23 before landing on the DL. Tanaka made two minor-league rehab starts at Triple-A, allowing three runs over six innings. Tanaka’s velocity was the same as it was before the injury, but Girardi will be watching the pitcher’s command above all else when he takes the mound Wednesday.
“I think that’s what you worry about sometimes, pitchers being a little bit rusty with their command,” Girardi said. “I know there’s been a ton made of his velocity, but his velocity is the same average as last year. It comes down to making pitches. We still expect a lot from him.”
“It’s basically all about the mechanics,” Tanaka said through a translator. “I’m pretty happy with that right now.”
The Yankees will try to give Tanaka an extra day of rest between starts as often as possible, but they have a stretch of 19 straight games beginning June 12 that might require a sixth starter for a turn if they want to make that happen.
COMEBACK TRAIL
Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) threw three innings in an extended spring training game on Tuesday, then threw two more simulated frames in the bullpen to bring his pitch count to 75 after rain forced him inside. Nova will likely begin a minor-league rehab assignment within the next week, although it is unknown whether the Yankees will utilize the full 30 days of rehab before bringing the righty back.
“I think it’s really where we feel he’s at after his starts,” Girardi said. “I don’t necessarily think that you’d say, ‘Once he starts his rehab, it’s going to take 30 days.’ It may.”
RYAN RISING
Brendan Ryan’s rehab assignment was transferred from Class A Tampa to Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, moving the infielder one step closer to a return after he experienced a few setbacks during his rehab.
Ryan has been out all year with calf and hamstring injuries, and while the Yankees have filled his spot with Gregorio Petit and Jose Pirela during the first two months, Girardi said Ryan would rejoin the team when he’s physically ready to do so.
“I think it’s important that he plays back-to-back days, or maybe three days in a row,” Girardi said. “The big thing is that he feels good and comfortable and like he’s ready to contribute. He’s had some at-bats, but they’ve been really spread out because it’s been on, off, on, off.”