The New York Yankees are suffering the snowball effect in their starting rotation. Four of the five starters as the season opened are now on the disabled list. Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia are out for the season. Michael Pineda may return in August, but that is not promised. On July 9, the Yankees placed Masahiro Tanaka on the 15-day disabled list, leaving only Hiroki Kuroda from the Opening Day rotation.
#Yankees place RHP Masahiro Tanaka on 15-day DL with right elbow inflammation; recall OF Zoilo Almonte from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 9, 2014
MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports that Tanaka left the team in Cleveland for an MRI Wednesday morning. The exam revealed inflammation in his right elbow, and the Yankees immediately disabled him. He just did not have the effectiveness Tuesday night that he has shown all year. He allowed 5 earned runs on 10 hits in 6.2 innings, far above his season ERA of 2.28 before Tuesday night. There is no timetable yet for Tanaka’s return, but he will, obviously, also miss the All-Star game. Tanaka is one of three Yankees (Derek Jeter, Dellin Betances) selected. The Boston Red Sox’ Koji Uehara will replace Tanaka on the American League All-Star roster.
Koji Uehara of @RedSox will replace Masahiro Tanaka on the AL #ASG roster, with Tanaka being placed on 15-day DL. — MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) July 9, 2014
This is the biggest blow of all to the Yankees. Tanaka’s 12-4 record has kept the Yankees barely above .500 and in contention in the A.L. East. Only one other starter, Chase Whitley, has a winning record (3-2) among those with 10 starts, but he also has a 5.14 ERA. Subtract Tanaka’s record, and the Yankees are 33-40 when anyone else starts. The Yankees picked up Brandon McCarthy from Arizona in exchange from Vidal Nuno, but they need more starting pitching — even more so with Tanaka out.
Losing Tanaka — especially for an extended time — could spell doom in the Bronx. In addition to a team ERA of 3.99 (10th in the league), the Yankees’ offense has also sputtered. The Yankees rank 12th in the American League in offense as they have scored 4.05 runs per game. They will need to score more runs and hold down the opposition better if they want to stay in the race in the A.L. East.
PHOTO CREDIT: Yahoo! Sports