The New York Yankees received some more bad news on the starting rotation end, this time it’s Masahiro Tanaka going to the disabled list.
New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with mild strains of the left and right hamstring. Ronald Torreyes replaces him on the 25-man roster.
ROSTER MOVES: The @Yankees placed RHP Masahiro Tanaka on the 10-day disabled list with mild strains of left and right hamstring and recalled INF Ronald Torreyes from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) June 9, 2018
Tanaka injured himself running the bases in the sixth inning of the Yankees 4-1 victory over the Mets Friday night.
The injury now puts another hole in the Yankees rotation. Jordan Montgomery is out for the rest of the year after having Tommy John surgery. Now Tanaka will miss at least two starts, maybe even more than that.
Cashman guessed that Tanaka will miss a month.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 9, 2018
With Tanaka down, don’t expect the Yankees to go outside of the organization to fill the void. The Yanks will fill that rotation spot using someone within the organization. Justus Sheffield, the Yanks top pitching prospect, has been on a role in Scranton but he doesn’t appear to be an option at this point.
The teams’ second-best pitching prospect Chance Adams hasn’t been as lights out as he has in the past. That also does not make him an option to start for Tanaka.
Luis Cessa is on an extended spring training assignment in Tampa, once that assignment is complete he can also be an option for Aaron Boone’s club. Cessa has spent time with Yankees throughout the last two seasons.
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if David Hale takes Tanaka’s next turn in the rotation either. Hale has spent time this year with the club, he is 0-1 with a 6.38 ERA in three games this season.
No matter how you try and spin it, the injury to Tanaka is a big blow for the Yankees. Tanaka has put up good numbers in 2018 with a 7-2 record as the Yankees number two starter.
