With Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees could be running out of time.
The right-hander sustained a Grade 1 hamstring strain against the Mets on Sept. 18 and the team is hopeful he'll play Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, but which day he'll actually return to the bump remains a question.
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Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he'd like to give Tanaka one more regular season start and then pitch him in the Wild Card Game, but his status for the do-or-die contest could be in jeopardy.
"That's something we have to decide on how he feels. I know everyone wants an answer, but it's really not that simple because of his value to us moving forward," Girardi said per MLB.com. "It's something you have to weigh."
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If Tanaka doesn't start by Thursday, he won't be able to have enough rest to then play in the Wild Card Game, which the Yankees are on pace to host next Tuesday. If Thursday comes and New York's ace doesn't pitch, he'll either have a really long layoff and no tune-up starts heading into the win-or-go home game, or he'll start in the final series of the regular season and only be available if the Yankees advance to the ALDS.
As for Tanaka, who also has a partially torn UCL, he's not thinking about it.
"I don't think we're there yet. I'm not ready to talk anything about that yet," he said via MLB.com. "As for now, for me, I'm just happy with the way I'm progressing."
While it makes sense to be smart with a young ace, the Yankees didn't give him a seven-year, $155 million deal to have him sit out their most important game. It's a tricky situation when it comes to the health of a 26-year-old pitcher, but if he can go, the Yankees have to thrust him into the spotlight of the Wild Card Game.
Beyond Tanaka, the Yankees options for a one-game playoff are very limited. CC Sabathia (5-10, 4.82 ERA) has struggled this season, while Michael Pineda (12-8, 3.99) has had a rough go of it in the second half. Depth also becomes a bit of an issue as Nathan Eovaldi has a serious elbow injury and Adam Warren could be used from the bullpen should Tanaka struggle.
Unless his health risk is very serious, Tanaka needs to take the mound at Yankee Stadium next Tuesday.
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