Via George King, right-hander Michael Pineda will remain in Tampa and not travel with the team to Baltimore as he works his way back from shoulder tendinitis. He will throw long-toss today, tomorrow, and Tuesday after playing catch on Thursday and Friday. If that goes well, there’s a chance he could get back on the mound and throw a bullpen session reasonable soon. He’ll need a few of those before throwing in a minor league game, I imagine.
Michael Pineda & Bad Timing
The Yankees opened their season sans Michael Pineda yesterday, as the young right-hander started the year on the disabled list with a bout of shoulder tendinitis. Pineda has played catch in each of the last two days, suggesting that the injury isn’t too serious. Joe Girardi said yesterday that it’s “safe to say” we won’t see him in the big leagues this month though, which jives with the ultra-conservative approach they’re reportedly taking.
Reports indicate that Pineda came to camp 10-20 lbs. overweight, and Brian Cashman openly questioned his offseason routine. “I betcha it’s the first time he picked up a ball and started working out, and he’s probably using — it doesn’t make it right, if it’s the case, but I can’t tell you it’s the case — but he’s probably using Spring Training to get himself in shape,” said the GM a few weeks ago. Turns out there’s a little more to the story than that. Courtesy of Marc Carig…
A wrinkle in the Michael Pineda Saga: Turns out that Pineda was slated to arrive at M’s camp Jan. 22 to work out early, just as he did before his great rookie year. Then Pineda got traded, and there was a 10-day lag before it became official. Ultimately, Pineda didn’t arrive in Tampa until Feb. 14, still early, but not as planned. Impossible to know if extra 3 weeks of work would have made difference. But Pineda knows this much: “Next year, I’m coming early. I’m doing my plan.”
The Yankees agreed to acquire Pineda on Friday the 13th, but the trade didn’t become official until ten days later as Carig said. By then he was already a day behind, and by time he actually got to Tampa, he was already 23 days behind schedule. It’s not a surprise he came down with an achy shoulder after ramping up his throwing with three fewer weeks of workouts than originally planned.
Patience is a big part of how the Yankees’ front office has operated in recent years, and it served them well this offseason. They acquired Pineda (and Jose Campos!) for two young players rather than four, which is what it took for other teams to land guys like Doug Fister, Mat Latos, and Gio Gonzalez. That patience also appears to have hurt the club and specifically Pineda due to the timing of the trade and the right-hander’s offseason schedule. It’s unfortunate more than anything; it’s not like the Yankees are keeping tabs on the offseason routine of every other player around the league. Hopefully this unplanned but extended break gets Pineda back to where he was last season, because that guy was really awesome.
Pitching Updates: Pineda, Pettitte, Aardsma
Got a few quick updates on some injured and returning hurlers…
- Michael Pineda played catch yesterday for the first time since being diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis last week, and the good news is that he played catch again today. Joe Girardi said it’s “safe to say” he won’t be back in the bigs this month, however. [Erik Boland & Bryan Hoch]
- Andy Pettitte is not injured, and in fact it’s quite the opposite. He threw 45 pitches in a bullpen session today and is still on track to throw two innings in a minor league game on Monday. [Boland]
- David Aardsma threw a bullpen session today, his first since having Tommy John surgery last July. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is a significant step in the rehab process. [Aardsma]
Pineda played catch today, reported no problems with shoulder
Via Joel Sherman, right-hander Michael Pineda played catch for about eight minutes off flat ground today and reported no problems with his shoulder. He also worked on his delivery in the bullpen without actually throwing a ball.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said he and Pineda worked on staying more in line with the plate rather than getting around the ball today, which he was doing both in camp this year and at times with the Mariners last season. That caused the cut we saw on his fastball and sapped some velocity. I’m not sure what the next step will be, but it’s obviously good news that he was able to throw without discomfort so soon after being diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis.
Yankees place Pineda on DL with shoulder inflammation tendinitis
Update (12:59pm): Via Marc Carig, Brian Cashman said Pineda will be shut down for 10-15 days. That’s pretty much the only thing they can do. Cashman also said the MRI revealed no structural damage; Pineda’s labrum and rotator cuff are fine.
11:18am: Via Marc Carig and Dan Barbarisi, the Yankees are sending Michael Pineda to the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation tendinitis. They’re obviously relieved that it isn’t anything more serious, and you should be too.
I don’t like that Pineda kept the soreness from the coaching staff and trainers, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re told you’re in a competition for a rotation spot. The Yankees plan to be very conservative according to David Waldstein, which isn’t surprising at all. Hopefully he heals up after some rest and comes out throwing darts sooner rather than later.
Michael Pineda dealing with “sore” shoulder
Via Erik Boland and Marc Carig, Michael Pineda complained of soreness at the back of the right shoulder following tonight’s start. The right-hander also said he was flying open in his delivery, causing his fastball to cut. It’s been cutting all spring, really. There’s almost no chance Pineda opens the season in the rotation now, but the shoulder soreness thing is obviously worth monitoring.
Update: Jack Curry said during the broadcast that Pineda was sore before the game but didn’t tell anyone. He did describe it as normal soreness, however. Sweeny Murti said the Yankees will play it safe and send Pineda for an MRI in the morning. For what it’s worth, his pre-trade MRI was clean.
And the drum beats on: Michael Pineda, velocity, and AAA
Last year, when he was competing for a spot in the Mariners rotation, Michael Pineda did not face intense scrutiny. People watched and dissected his performances, as they do for every pitcher. But given the Seattle media market combined with the Mariners current place in the baseball world, the attention paid him was relatively mild. One year later, you can’t click on three Yankees-related links without seeing a Pineda mention. And most of it isn’t exactly glowing.
The level of scrutiny that Pineda faces is new to him, though it’s not to us. We’ve seen it happen dozens of times before. In Pineda’s case it makes all the sense in the world. He’s a young pitcher with high expectations, due to his 2011 performance, his former top prospect status, and the trade that brought him to New York. Yet it seems that attention paid him has gone from intense to overkill. Let’s quickly review the timeline of Pineda’s brief Yankees tenure.
1. When the Yankees acquired Pineda, Brian Cashman himself said that Pineda adding a changeup to his arsenal was the key to his success. Many analysts and scouts agreed.
2. Pineda comes into camp overweight, a cause for instant criticism.
3. Pineda receives early praise for his changeup, and throws it often in his early spring outings.
4. Now lacking a point of criticism, the media turns to his missing velocity as a point of major concern.
5. He builds velocity over a few starts, going from 89-91 in his first start to hitting 94 in his most recent one. But that’s not 96-97, so the criticism continues.
It’s all a bit absurd, and it grows even more so. At least one beat writer has led the charge in calling for Pineda to start the season in AAA, criticizing him at every opportunity (and even when there is no clear opportunity). Thankfully, the Yankees don’t operate to satiate the media and their desire for clicks and page views. They operate in a manner that will benefit them on the field, both now and in the future.
Are there solid, logical arguments for Pineda to start the season in AAA? There is the issue of his service clock, which the Yankees could delay by starting him in the minors. That would afford them another year of control, making Pineda a free agent after the 2017 season rather than 2016. Held back long enough, they could even delay his arbitration clock, setting his first hearing for 2015 rather than 2014. That seems like a decent incentive, especially knowing the front office’s desire — nay, mandate, as Hal Steinbrenner tells it — to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold for the 2014 season.
Today at FanGraphs Dave Cameron offered an additional argument. He points to Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who, like Pineda, experienced a drop in velocity when he came into camp before the 2010 season. Cameron admits that the situations don’t line up, but I think he undersells the degree of difference between Pineda and Bumgarner. Bumgarner had experienced his velocity dip during the 2009 season. When it persisted in 2010 spring training, the Giants decided to keep him in the minors. This is quite different from Pineda, who not only spent all of 2011 in the majors, but also retained his velocity throughout (discounting his final start, which came on 11 days’ rest).
What both the service time and the Bumgarner arguments miss is the effect a minor league assignment would have on Pineda. Instead of looking at the situation from your armchair, look at it from Pineda’s point of view. He pitched successfully for a full major league season. He has pitched reasonably well all spring — better, certainly, than at least Ivan Nova, if not others. And now the Yankees are going to send you to the minors to work on your velocity, with the added benefit of them gaining more of your services for a cheaper price. Oh, and by the way, the Triple-A team is on a perpetual road trip because of stadium renovations. How would you feel if you were in his shoes? It’s an important consideration — as Joe Torre liked to say, there’s a heartbeat to the game.
If the Yankees feel that they can get the most out of Pineda by sending him to the minors, and if they think his confidence won’t go into the crapper, then it’s something to consider. But by all indications, this is a guy who has given it his all this spring. He might have shown up a bit overweight, but are we going to blame a 23-year-old for taking it easy the off-season after experiencing his most intense workload ever? Even so, Cashman says he’s already dropped 12 pounds and has worked as hard as anyone this spring. Is that someone you want to send away? Or is it someone you want to put in your rotation? He is, after all, one of the five most talented pitchers in camp. It seems like he should be treated as such.
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