Those who have been following Yankees rumors to see when Michael Pineda will make his return from a shoulder injury, an injury which limited him to just 10 games in the NY Yankees farm system last season, will have to wait just a bit longer.
According to Delia Enriquez at the Bronx Baseball Daily, the NY Yankees plan to have Pineda pitch a simulated game on Sunday, one day after Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka is schedule to make his New York Yankees debut against the Philadelphia Phillies
Speaking with reporters in advance of the NY Yankees' Grapefruit League contest with the Detroit Tigers, Yankees manager Joe Girardi illuminated his reasoning for being patient with Michael Pineda's return--
“(Pitching a sim game is) just kind of the way it works out,” Girardi stated. “We’ve talked about building guys up, and we’ll do a sim for him the first game. I believe his second game is a real game.”
The New York Yankees skipper also displayed optimism over where the 25-year-old righthander is at mechanics-wise comparatively to the past couple of season:
“He’s better than when we saw him a couple of years ago, that’s for sure...I’m curious to see how it translates in a game… Just the way the ball’s coming out (has been impressive). Consistency in his mechanics. Consistency in his location.”
Michael Pineda missed the entire 2012 season after having arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder for an anterior labral tear.
The NY Yankees hope the long road to recovery leads Pineda back to his 2011 form with the Seattle Mariners which sold the Yankees on him in the first place.