Masahiro Tanaka is making progress after arthroscopic surgery in October last year to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.
The New York Yankees right-hander threw 31 pitches on Monday during his third mound session.
New York hopes he will be ready for his first regular-season turn in the rotation. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Tanaka is “where we want him to be” and “so far there have been no hitches or anything.”
“Right now I just don’t think it’s the right time or appropriate time to answer that,” Tanaka said through a translator. “I just want to go ahead to take it day to day, and see where that takes me.”
“Actually, my body is feeling really good right now,” Tanaka said. “I think I’m on schedule.”
Tanaka was 12-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 24 starts last year and lost the AL wild-card game to Houston. He was on the disabled list last season with right-wrist tendinitis and a forearm strain, and missed a September start because of a strained right hamstring.
“He didn’t look behind to me,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Threw all his pitches. I felt good about it. He felt good about it, which is probably more important.”
Tanaka was diagnosed with a partially torn elbow ligament in 2014, when he went 13-5 in 20 starts. He had no issues with the ligament last season.
“I’m not concerned about that anymore,” Tanaka said.
Closer Aroldis Chapman missed Monday’s workout to tend to a personal matter and was expected back yesterday. General manager Brian Cashman said Chapman asked for the day off about a week ago.
A decision by baseball commissioner Rob Manfred could be coming soon regarding Chapman and the sport’s new domestic violence policy.
Chapman is under investigation for an incident at his house in Florida in October involving his girlfriend. Chapman is alleged to have fired a gun during the incident.
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