The New York Yankees have some solid starting
pitchers, but they expect to get one more when Michael Pineda returns from
injury. Pineda is expected to return to action in mid-June. Pineda missed all of
2012 with a tear in the anterior labral in his right shoulder.
Yankees beat writer Erik Boland of
Newsday tweeted a comment from Yankees’ pitching coach Larry Rothschild about
Pineda’s initial workouts. Said Boland, “Rothschild said no setbacks as yet for
Pineda during half mound sessions.” Pineda could begin throwing full-mound
sessions by Spring Training’s opening week. Boland also tweeted to a follower
who asked him about Pineda’s potential return, “Yankees hoping for mid to late
June.”
Pineda finished fifth in the 2011
American League Rookie of the Year race as he went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA for the
Seattle Mariners. He also made his first A.L. All-Star team that year. The
Yankees acquired him in an offseason trade before the 2012 season for catching
prospect Jesus Montero. When healthy, Pineda can give the Yankees an extra arm
on the mound to help rest older veterans such as Andy Pettitte and Hiroki
Kuroda. Pineda could prove a valuable sixth starter down the stretch.
Sources:
Baseball Reference, Michael
Pineda Player Page, baseball-reference.com.
Erik Boland, Twitter Message,
twitter.com, February 7, 2013.
Major League Baseball, Yankees Injury Report,
mlb.mlb.com.
