Masahiro Tanaka placed on disabled list due to ‘mild’ forearm strain
The New York Yankees will be without their ace for quite some time. Masahiro Tanaka was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a “very mild” forearm strain, the club announced.
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Tanaka is also dealing with wrist tendinitis. Coincidentally, this all happened on the day the Yankees are giving away Masahiro Tanaka bobbleheads.
While the 26-year-old was placed on the 15-day DL, general manager Brian Cashman expects to be without Tanaka for at least a month.
The injury puts a big dent in the Yankees’ hopes of contention. After looking shaky during his first two starts of the season, Tanaka has settled in the last two times out. While he’s only thrown 22 1/3 innings, Tanaka was beginning to resemble the pitcher fans saw last year. He had a solid 3.22 ERA, with an almost identical strikeout rate.
With Tanaka sidelined for at least a month, Chase Whitley should be in line for some starts. Whitley is fine as a back-end pitcher, but no one is going to compare him to Tanaka any time soon. Though the club can get by with Whitley for a couple starts, things could get shaky if Tanaka doesn’t return as quickly as anticipated.
Given his issues last season, Tanaka’s “very mild” strain seems anything but that right now. Tanaka was limited to 20 starts last season due to a partial tear of his UCL. He opted for rehab over surgery, and was able to return for two starts in September.
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Many questioned whether this was the right strategy. A number of pitchers have attempted to go the rehab route, only to eventually succumb to Tommy John surgery. In that sense, it’s incredibly worrisome to see Tanaka back on the disabled list so soon.
The Yankees are currently 12-8, and lead the American League East. The race in the division was supposed to be tight this season, and losing Tanaka for a significant amount of time could play a huge role in whether the club remains in contention.
Those issues could extend past this season, too. If Tanaka’s injury is more serious than expected, the team could be without their ace for a large portion of 2016.
For now, the club will hope that Tanaka can once again rehab through his issues and return to the rotation. Given his recent injury history, things don’t look encouraging for Tanaka.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
