The road back to the big leagues has been a bumpy one, but Michael Pineda appears to getting back on track. According to the New York Post, Pineda began throwing side sessions for Class-A Tampa this week.
The 24-year-old right-hander hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2011, and is still trying to get on the field in pinstripes. After rehab from major shoulder surgery went relatively as planned, Pineda was optioned to Triple-A for more refinement. It was there that after a handful of starts, he began to feel some tightness in the shoulder.
Pineda has been shutdown for most of this month, so the fact that he’s throwing again is a good sign for the Yankees. However, there is no timetable for his return – or even a hint that he could contribute in the Bronx this year. We may just have to wait until 2014.
In 2011 with the Mariners, Pineda went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 171 IP. He started for the AL in the all-star game that year, and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. Over that winter, he was traded to the Yankees for Jesus Montero, who has since been demoted to the minors and linked with Biogenesis. This season with Scranton where Pineda’s made the most starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA, and 26 strikeouts in 23.1 IP.
