Aaron Boone, the manager of the New York Yankees, expressed hope that Tommy Kahnle’s biceps tendinitis would not affect his availability for the start of the regular season.
However, Kahnle himself sounded less certain, saying that he would take it slow to ensure that he was healthy and ready to go.
On the fourth day of a 10-day shut down from throwing, Kahnle had previously dealt with biceps tendinitis twice before in his career, missing a month in 2014 and pitching through it in 2018, which led to him being sent to the minors.
Kahnle said that he caught it early this time and that they would see how it goes. He signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract to rejoin the Yankees in December.
He initially felt something after his first live bullpen session of camp, which he thought was soreness.
But he spoke up when he did not bounce back well from his second time facing hitters.
If Kahnle is not ready to break camp with the team, the opening could allow the Yankees to carry both Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt, with one as the fifth starter and the other as the long man in the bullpen.
They could also turn to Jimmy Cordero or Matt Krook, both on the 40-man roster, or non-roster invitees Ian Hamilton or Nick Ramirez, who have both caught the Yankees’ attention early.
During Thursday’s game in Bradenton, shortstop Oswald Peraza “tweaked” his lower left leg while stepping on first base.
Peraza played on Saturday against the Rays but has not played since. Boone expects him to play again on Thursday and said that he does not expect it to be an issue.
German continued to look sharp in the competition for the fifth starter job, throwing three innings of one-hit ball with one walk and four strikeouts.
Former Yankee Miguel Andujar, who the Yankees designated for assignment last September, was back at Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, starting in right field for the Pirates.
After the game, the Yankees reassigned RHP Yoendrys Gomez, OF Everson Pereira, INF Jesus Bastidas, and INF Andres Chaparro to minor league camp.
»Aaron Boone expresses hope about Tommy Kahnle«
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