As you may have heard, the 23 year old starting pitcher that was acquired by the Yankees by trading Jesus Montero has faced another setback. Michael Pineda was scheduled to pitch in an extended spring training game when he experienced "shoulder weakness." Because of this he has been completely shut down for the time being.
Before this injury he was projected to come back to the Yankee rotation in early May. He only lasted 15 pitches in the rehab assignment. This is horrible news for the Yankees considering how bad the Yankee starters have been this year. Only the Twins starting rotation is worst at this point in the season. If it was not for the explosive bats and shutdown bullpen this team could be in a lot of trouble. Do not expect Pineda to be on the mound anytime soon as he is scheduled for a dye-contrast MRI on Monday to see if anything was missed. The earliest possible return will probably be sometime in June, but we will find out more information on this sometime tomorrow.
The good news for the Yankee rotation (which may be bad news for Freddy Garcia) is the fact that Andy Pettitte will be back soon, possibly as early as Mid- May. It seems as if Phil Hughes spot is safe for now and Garcia is in the hot seat. His era is currently 9.75 and he only lasted 1 2/3 innings last night.
Source: rotoworld.com
Andy Pettitte is slated to pitch 80-85 pitches on Wednesday with the Double-A Trenton team.
“If I don’t pitch good enough, that’s my problem,” he (Garcia) said, after
getting blasted in the Yankees’ 15-9 comeback over the Red Sox. “I’m not
thinking about who’s coming back or they’ll bring back. It’s not my job
to worry about it. My job to worry about is pitch good, that’s all.” (NJ.com)