The Yankees announced today that they have reinstated pitcher Masahiro Tanaka from the injured list and designated catcher Chris Iannetta for assignment. Tanaka is set to make his season debut after a scary injury suffered in early July, when he suffered a mild concussion after a Giancarlo Stanton line drive struck him in the head.
Tanaka will be thrust into the middle of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, wasting no time getting into the swing of the season. It’s encouraging to see the 31-year-old ready to return to action after a frightening incident during Yankees summer training forced Tanaka to be hospitalized on July 4. Fortunately, he suffered only a mild concussion and recovered quickly. With the Yankees sitting at 5-1, he’ll have missed just one start, which seems like the best-case scenario given the alarming nature of his injury.
In the meantime, the Yankees fared pretty well without their longest-tenured starting pitcher, relying on the foursome of Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton (along with a cameo from Jonathan Loaisiga) to start games. It’ll be a welcome sight to have Tanaka back on the mound, with his track record of consistency and playoff success making him a fan favorite in New York.
Last season was in fact one of Tanaka’s worst statistically since joining the Yankees in 2014. Despite garnering his second All-Star selection, he posted the second-worst ERA of his career (4.45) and struck out batters at a career-low rate (7.4 K/9).
The removal of Iannetta from the Yanks’ 40-man roster leaves just two catchers, Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka. Beyond that duo, Erik Kratz, Josh Thole, and Max McDowell are members of the 60-man player pool. The other 29 teams will now have the opportunity to acquire Iannetta via trade or waivers. If no one bites, the 37-year-old will likely hit the open market and have a chance to latch on with a new club.
Srechter35- The Mets are so horrible he has to troll on a Yankee thread. He has way too much time on his hands. He should just stick with his Mets.
so horrible… come on, don’t know about that either man.
This is a psychological thing more than a long lasting headache. Pitchers rarely come back 100% from a nasty comebacker. They lose that fearless mentality and become skiddish. As much as I dislike the Yankees I am rooting for Masahiro to make a complete recovery here.
He might be skiddish in his underwear if he faces Stanton again.
There’s no basis for your claims. Plenty of guys come back fine after. Hiroki Kuroda had some pretty good years with the Yankees after getting struck as a Dodgers.
I was making a joke about coachdit saying ‘skiddish’ instead of what he actually meant, ‘skittish’.
I love Tanaka!
Welcome back, Masa!
Lol. Not after the poor showing last night and tonight
All I can say is that there’s no way Tanaka is only 31 years old. He has to be 37 or 38, just look at him!
They need to Designate Brett Gardner. At least we won’t see him swing and miss 1010 times in the playoffs batting third. Oh wait that’s the Yankees way Brett Garbage batting 3rd in the post season.
The Yankees should have released Kratz who swings a bat like a geriatric senior instead of Iannetta who is a below average hitter, but can hit. Also Iannetta is 3 years younger and has a better arm.
Nice! Welcome back, MT! It’ll be great to see him pitch through the playoffs again this year!