According to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, don’t expect to see Michael Pineda on a big league mound at any point during the month of August.
Cashman: You will not see Michael Pineda in MLB games in August. Hoping for September.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 4, 2015
On Tuesday afternoon, Cashman told reporters that the Yankees hope Pineda can return to the mound at some point in September. The 26-year-old was recently placed on the disabled list with a right forearm strain, an injury that should take about a month to heal.
This is not the first time this season that the Yankees have seen one of their pitchers go down due to this injury. Yankees’ closer Andrew Miller was sidelined with the same injury earlier in the season, and was forced to miss about a month before he was able to return to the mound.
The difference between Miller and Pineda is rehab process to physically get ready for a return to the big leagues. Being that Miller pitches out of the bullpen, one rehab appearance was good enough for him, as he was able to rejoin the Yankees quickly.
With Pineda being a starter, it is likely that he could need anywhere from 3-5 rehab starts before making his way back to the major league roster, so his timetable to return definitely could be longer than a month.
Pineda got off to a hot start in 2015, but was struggling before suffering the injury. In his 19 starts, the right-hander has posted a 9-7 record with a 3.97 ERA in 118 innings pitched.
Currently, the Yankees are 5.5 games ahead in the American League East Division, but the injury to Pineda definitely doesn’t help their starting rotation. The club hopes that they have one of their better arms back for the playoff stretch, as he is a very important piece to the Yankees pitching staff.
