The New York Yankees have been relatively quiet this offseason, and that has led many to wonder whether they have what it takes to be competitive in the coming season. The team saw Derek Jeter retire, they have one of the oldest rosters in the majors, and they do not appear to have much young talent on the way.
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One of the key things that the Yankees need in order to get back to contending for the postseason is for Masahiro Tanaka to return to the form he showed during the first half of his rookie season. The Yankees signed Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million contract last offseason, and the young pitcher certainly looked worth it during his age-25 season.
Tanaka was a legitimate Cy Young candidate for the first half of the season last year. He dominated basically every time that he took the mound, and he was among the league leaders in earned run average and strikeouts.
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Tanaka eventually succumbed to injury, however. He suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament that caused him to miss more than two months of the season. Many pitchers that suffer the injury choose to undergo Tommy John surgery, but Tanaka and the Yankees opted against that course.
He did return to make two starts near the end of the season, and he has said that his elbow feels fine, according to Fox Sports. "So far, so good -- including that [elbow]," Tanaka said earlier this month.
Tanaka could eventually still require surgery on the elbow, and history shows that most pitchers who opt for rest and rehabilitation rather than surgery for a partially-torn UCL nearly always end up having the surgery anyway.
The Yankees need Tanaka to be an ace if they want to compete, but they may be better served in the long run by managing his workload in order to ensure that his arm is at full strength.
The Washington Nationals closely monitored Stephen Strasburg's innings and pitch counts across multiple seasons after he underwent Tommy John surgery. The Yankees are no doubt aware of how the Nationals managed Strasburg, and given his stellar 2014, they could opt to follow a similar program.
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