Masahiro Tanaka completed his second rehab start Wednesday afternoon for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against the Pawtucket Red Sox.
Tanaka went three innings, giving up three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out four. He served up a home run to Jackie Bradley Jr. in the second inning. Of the 62 pitches Tanaka threw, 44 of them were for strikes.
Tanaka may need one more rehab start before getting called up. The Yankees could choose to have him build up to 85-90 pitches in the minors, or have that start come at the big league level. The most important thing is that he feels no pain in his wrist/forearm.
When the 25 year-old righty comes back, the Yankees will have some decisions to make regarding the rotation. Adam Warren has gotten better with each outing, so Chris Capuano would probably get sent to the pen to become the long man. This would made Esmil Rogers expendable.
The Yankees will check with Tanaka after Wednesday’s game in Pawtucket to see how he feels before making a decision on what’s next for their ace.
