Cessa throws four solid innings in Trenton rehab
TRENTON » Arm & Hammer Park has been a steady rehabilation center for Yankees players this season, with Luis Cessa being the fifth to make a stop in less than two months.
Cessa, who has been on the disabled list since April 18 with an oblique strain, progressed closer to a return with four clean innings Saturday night against Erie.
The 26-year-old righthander threw 31 of 45 pitches for strikes and allowed only one run (unearned) on two hits. He struck out four (all swinging third strikes) and walked none. His changeup was particularly effective against a lefty-heavy lineup.
“The doctors say I’m fine and I feel great, so I just have to do my normal routine. I’m close to coming back,” Cessa said. “I need to stay doing my normal routine, throw my normal pitches, my normal delivery. Not thinking about, ‘OK, maybe next pitch, I’ll feel (my oblique).’ Things are feeling great and I’m not feeling anything.”
The results contrasted starkly from Cessa’s first rehab appearance June 11 with High-A Tampa in Clearwater, Florida. In that outing he served up four walks, three hits and two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. Only 19 of his 46 pitches were strikes.
Cessa chalked up those command problems to not yet being in his normal rhythm. It was his first game setting after exclusively throwing bullpen sessions over the last two months — the longest DL stint of his professional career. “It’s a little hard,” Cessa said. “The oblique is the middle, the top of the body, so you use it for everything.”
The Mexico native has appeared in 30 games and made 14 starts for the Yankees since 2016, producing a 4.49 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 81 strikeouts and 32 walks in 110 1/3 innings.
He is unsure what his next move will be, but Cessa suspects he will make at least one more rehab start and throw closer to 100 pitches. He was restricted to about 60 pitches Saturday, Thunder manager Jay Bell said.
Whether that is in Trenton or possibly Scranton is to be determined, but should he return to the Bronx upon being activated, Cessa says he will be ready for whatever role the Yankees need.
“I just be ready for starts, sometimes coming from the bullpen, sometimes long man in the bullpen, sometimes I throw one inning,” Cessa said. “Right now they have a couple injuries in the big leagues, too, like (Jordan) Montgomery and (Masahiro) Tanaka. Maybe if I stay healthy I have an opportunity for a start ... but it’s my third year in the big leagues and the last two years I had the same thing — starter, reliever, starter, reliever. So I have a little idea what I need to do (to prepare) before the game.”
Cessa pitched to 27-yearold catcher Jorge Saez, who came off the disabled Friday and is someone Bell believes to be an invaluable veteran presence for a farm system with a deep pool of pitching prospects.
“We’ve definitely got two really good ones right now,” Bell said. “I’ve got (Francisco Diaz) and Jorge here. Both of those guys know how to call games, they know how to receive balls and they know how to throw runners out. You’ve got guys that know how to get back there and make that pitcher feel comfortable, knows if he gets a runner on first base that that guy is probably not going to go anywhere.”
Along with the Cessa move on Saturday, the Yankees transferred left-hander Justin Kamplain from Trenton to Tampa and righthander Paul Young from Staten Island to Trenton.