While throwing in a simulated game towards the end of April, Yankees starter Michael Pineda suffered a strain of the teres major muscle in his shoulder. The diagnosis purported Pineda would need three or four weeks to recover. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Pineda will need more than four weeks now, according to manager Joe Girardi, via Jorge Castillo of The Star-Ledger.
Pineda played catch at a distance of 60 feet on Saturday, Castillo writes, and everything went well, but Girardi is in no mood to rush the right-hander considering his four starts this season were his first for the Yankees since they acquired him in January 2012 in the Jesus Montero trade.
Pineda, of course, made headlines when he was caught on national television with pine tar on his neck, but when he wasn’t brazenly breaking baseball’s rules, he was pitching well for the Yankees. In four starts, the 25-year-old posted a 1.83 ERA with 15 strikeouts and three walks over 19 2/3 innings.
