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NEW YORK, NY - JULY 18: Pitcher Michael Pineda #35 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on July 18, 2015 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Michael Pineda to make second rehab start Friday

After making a successful first rehab start on Sunday for Double-A Trenton, the New York Yankees announced that starting pitcher Michael Pineda will make his second rehab start on Friday.

Having made his first rehab start with Double-A Trenton, Pineda will pitch on Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In his last rehab start, the 26-year-old went three innings, allowing two runs on four hits, as he was limited to just 42 pitches.

For Pineda, his plan is to rejoin the big league rotation at some point next week. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters before Wednesday’s game that the plan was to have Pineda make one more rehab start before returning, but the club wants to make sure he feels sharp before making the move to bring him back.

Looking ahead, the Yankees might have a problem at hand, as they will have six capable starting pitchers with only five spots in the current rotation. If Pineda does in fact rejoin the roster by next week, the Yankees could look to a six-man rotation,ย which Girardi says is easier to do in September as the roster expands.

With the club only having two off days during the last full month of the season (along with a streak of 17 consecutive games to end the season), the club was most likely planning on using an occasional sixth starter anyways.

Having Pineda in the rotation would help provide other starters an extra day of rest between starts, which could be beneficial as the club doesn’t have many off days the rest of the season.ย So far in 2015, Pineda has a 9-7 record with a 3.97 ERA in 19 starts (118 innings pitched)