New York Yankees: Injury update; Luis Severino, James Paxton, Aaron Judge, and Masahiro Tanaka

February 24, 2020
New York Yankees, Luis Severino
Mar 8, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Severino:  Forearm soreness

Severino noticed forearm and elbow soreness dating back to his last start in the offseason against the Houston Astros.  During the offseason, he has had MRIs and CAT scans that have failed to show anything wrong.  As he started his pitching routine in spring training, he noticed he had no trouble with his fastball or in his slider but found he had forearm soreness when he threw his changeup.  Manager Aaron Boone had him undergo tests with New York Yankees team physician Dr. Chris Ahman on Friday which also showed nothing wrong, but with the soreness persisting Boone shut him down and has sent him back to New York where he will go through a battery of tests with Dr. Ahman at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Monday.

In a story by NYYNEWS.com’s Adam King, the writer suggests that Luis Severino has forearm stiffness/tightness. This has long been known to be the sign the UCL has torn/been blown out.  In this writer’s opinion, it is far too early to make those assumptions, until all the further testing has been completed.  If it is a blown-out UCL (ulnar collateral ligament), it will be very bad news for the Yankees and could cause their ace to lose his second season in a row.

James Paxton: Back surgery

Just before spring training started, pitcher James Paxton underwent back surgery. Paxton’s surgery became necessary when he was no longer responding to treatment for back pain. Paxton had a Microdiscectomy. The operation consists of removing a portion of the intervertebral disc, the herniated or protruding portion that is compressing the traversing spinal nerve root. He also had a cyst removed. Luckily for the Yankees, his 3 to 4-month rehab from the surgery, which would have allowed him back into the rotation sometime before the All-Star break, now appears to be shorted to enable his return as early as June. Yet this still causes some concern.

Aaron Judge: Shoulder problems

Aaron Judge played in only 102 games due to injuries.   Those injuries included a left oblique strain that caused him to miss two full months at the beginning of the season. Now since returning to spring training, Judge has had right shoulder soreness that has kept him from throwing and catching and keeping him from batting practice.  Judge went through several tests including an MRI which found nothing wrong with the shoulder.  On Friday, he did toss and catch and hit from the tee.  He was expected to take batting practice on Sunday.  The Yankees are hoping for the best.

Masahiro Tanaka:  Partially torn UCL

This is not a new injury, he has been dealing with it since 2014.  He has been pitching through it and making adjustments to preserve his elbow.  Tanaka has reported at the spring training facility in Tampa that he’s feeling ahead of schedule due to a little change made to his usual offseason routine while playing in his homeland in Japan, where he has spent most of the postseason.  “I was able to work out somewhere that was a little bit warmer, so I feel like my throwing program is a little bit ahead of where it was last year,” Tanaka said from the complex through his interpreter.

In 2014 as he started to pitch for the Yankees and midway through the season, it was revealed that he had a partially torn UCL requiring Tommy John surgery.  Tanaka decided against it in favor of rehab. He missed two and a half months of the season but returned in September for two starts.  So far, he has pitched for four full seasons without any further problems.   When asked what he does to continue the rehab he responded: “I’m not conscious of it,” Tanaka said. “I don’t exercise the elbow more so than other things. I don’t do anything special specifically for the elbow.”  With all the Yankee pitching injuries, the Yankees hope Tanaka continues to do well with his ailment.

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