CLEVELAND -- Masahiro Tanaka has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, and the Yankees are hopeful that the right-hander will be able to rehab the injury and avoid season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that Tanaka has been seen by three doctors, none of whom have recommended that Tanaka should have surgery at this time. If Tanaka's rehab program is successful, he could be back on a Major League mound in six weeks.
"Hopefully no more than six weeks. Time will tell," Cashman said. "It's a disappointing situation and one that none of us wanted to be talking about or experiencing. Unfortunately, the facts are the facts. We found out now, and we know what we're dealing with."
Cashman said that the tear to the pitcher's UCL is being described as "small," and that Tanaka has been scheduled to have a platelet-rich plasma injection administered next week in New York.
"He's not the first guy to have this, and guys have been able to rehab it and get back and pitch successfully," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It is what it is. We aren't going to have him for at least six weeks, and that's the tough part. But I'm optimistic that we'll have him back."
The most prominent example of a pitcher rehabbing a UCL tear and returning to form is Adam Wainwright; Ervin Santana also did so after a similar injury, and while declining to name them, Cashman said that pitchers in the Yankees' organization have successfully rehabbed this injury.
However, many cases like Tanaka's eventually lead to Tommy John surgery. Last year, the Mets' Matt Harvey attempted to rehab before deciding to go under the knife.
"I would tell him to just go with what you feel," Harvey said. "I didn't listen to anybody. I went off of my personal feelings. It's your body that you want to throw with again, obviously. If you want to go out and try not to have [surgery] and have your mind set to that and you're 100-percent committed to that, more power to you. If it's the other way around, go get it done."
Tanaka was examined in Seattle by Yankees team physician Christopher Ahmad, as well as noted orthopedist Dr. David Altchek and Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who examined Tanaka in Los Angeles before he signed a seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees.
ElAttrache used an MRI taken in January to confirm that the tear was not a pre-existing injury. Girardi said that while Tanaka's workload was heavier of late, pitching on a regular five-day rotation in three of his last four starts, the Yankees paid close attention to Tanaka's health from the first day of the spring.
"I think we managed him the best we could," Girardi said. "We were careful. If you can remember, I was asked a thousand times why I moved him back about two weeks ago. We did everything we could to give him extra rest and not have him throw too many pitches. And we'll continue to do that, because we know we've got to keep him healthy."
Tanaka experienced his worst outing as a big leaguer on Tuesday, surrendering five earned runs and 10 hits -- both season highs -- over 6 2/3 innings in a 5-3 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field. After beginning the year 11-1 with a 1.99 ERA, Tanaka was 1-3 with a 4.25 ERA in his last four outings.
He is the fourth member of the Yankees' Opening Day rotation to be placed on the disabled list, joining CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda. Cashman said that Tanaka's injury would not change his stance of being an aggressive buyer leading up to the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"We've been aggressive, because now we've got four starters that we were planning to have in the rotation out," Cashman said. "Because of that, we have been aggressive and we will continue to be aggressive, unless I'm told otherwise. We are in the middle of a division fight, and we want to stay in the fight."
Tanaka was off to a sensational start in his rookie season, posting a 12-4 record and a 2.51 ERA in his first 18 starts and earning selection as an American League All-Star. Tanaka has been replaced on the AL's roster by Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara, but Tanaka is still invited to attend the July 15 All-Star Game festivities at Target Field.
"You hope for the best," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "I'm not a doctor and I don't exactly know what all that means, but any time you say no surgery, that's what you hope for. You hope that he gets back healthy and gets back soon."
Solarte's work in Minors gets him back to Yanks
CLEVELAND -- The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had completed their doubleheader against the Charlotte Knights, and Yangervis Solarte was in a Pennsylvania hotel room with a PlayStation controller in his hands, playing his copy of "MLB 14: The Show."
Shortly after midnight, Solarte's cell phone rang, and the infielder got the call back to The Show, summoned to join the Yankees on Thursday in Cleveland.
"I'm very excited right now that I've got another opportunity," said Solarte, who was in Thursday's lineup at third base. "We'll keep going again."
After making the club as a non-roster invitee this spring, Solarte was a key contributor for the first two months of the season. He was mired in a 3-for-41 (.073) funk, dropping his season average to .260, when the Yankees optioned him to the Minors on July 3 in favor of infielder Zelous Wheeler.
With the RailRiders, Solarte said that he worked with hitting coach Butch Wynegar and made a conscious effort to jump on the first pitch more often.
Solarte was rewarded with 12 hits in 20 at-bats (.600) over his five games there, leading to his callup when the Yankees placed Carlos Beltran on the seven-day concussion DL Thursday.
"I just go there and play hard, the same game," Solarte said. "I tried to just make an adjustment, a little bit more aggressive sometimes."
Bombers bits
• Brett Gardner returned to the Yankees' lineup on Thursday after being unavailable on Wednesday with what the club termed a lower abdominal strain. Gardner was also dealing with a stomach illness during the Minneapolis portion of the current road trip.
• The Yankees are unlikely to announce a starter for Sunday's game against the Orioles until Saturday, but there is a good chance the start will go to right-hander Chase Whitley, who pitched two innings in relief on Wednesday.
"I think it all depends on what happens the next few days," Girardi said. "[Pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and I talked about it, we brought it up today, and he said, 'Let's just get through the next few days to determine what we're going to do.'"
• On this date in 2004, the Yankees dedicated a Monument Park plaque to Hall of Fame pitcher Red Ruffing, who was with the club from 1930-46 and still owns the club record for wins by a right-hander with 231.
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