Michael Pineda Injured: Yankees Pitcher Out For Season With Torn Labrum

Michael Pineda #35 of the New York Yankees poses for a portrait during the New York Yankees Photo Day on February 27, 2012.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda will miss the entire season because of a tear in the labrum of his right shoulder.

The Yankees said the right-hander will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday in New York and be out for about a year.

"It's a loss," manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday. "He was a guy that we were counting on this year. We traded for him, and unfortunately he's hurt."

New York acquired Pineda from Seattle in January, giving up top catching prospect Jesus Montero to get the 23-year-old All-Star pitcher.

Pineda felt weakness in his shoulder during an extended spring training game Saturday, which came three weeks after he had problems in a spring training start. The tear was discovered in a medical exam after that.

When Pineda experienced discomfort in the back of the shoulder during spring training March 30, the initial diagnosis was tendon inflammation in his right shoulder.

Girardi said Pineda wasn't quite himself during spring training, but that the 6-foot-7, 260-pound pitcher was making his starts and doing his bullpens without any complaints of pain.

"He just felt like his arm was weak, so it explains why it was weak now," Girardi said. "When and where and how and what we did doesn't matter now. What we have to do is more forward and try to get this kid healthy."

Pineda was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA in 171 innings last year as a rookie for the light-hitting Mariners. He's now going to miss an entire season, and possibly more.

"It's hard because you get a chance and you realize your dream and you have a good first year and you're looking forward to taking the things that you've learned from your first year and applying them to the second year, and you get hurt. It's a frustrating time," Girardi said. "Our job is to make sure that we keep him focused on his rehab and we get him back for next year."

The manager expressed optimism that Pineda would return healthy because he's young and strong.

"He does have youth on his side," Girardi said. "And he doesn't have a ton of mileage in his arm as a younger player. That bodes well for him."

The Yankees revealed the extent of Pineda's injury on the same day that 39-year-old left-hander Andy Pettitte made his third minor league start in his comeback from a one-year hiatus.

Pettitte allowed three earned runs and seven singles in 5-plus innings for Double-A Trenton. He struck out three and walked one, throwing 59 of his 81 pitches for strikes. Pettitte is still expected to make one or two minor league starts before possibly rejoining the Yankees.

Girardi said he felt the Yankees would be OK with the rotation for now because he believes "our guys can pitch. That's the bottom line, guys just have to get it done."

As for Pettitte's eventual return, Girardi feels like so many others who assume that "Andy's going to be the Andy when he left."

From our partners

• The 50 Worst Sports Movies - Bleacher Report
• 20 Reasons Baseball Is The Worst - Bleacher Report
• Sports Stars Of The '90s: Where Are They Now? - Bleacher Report

Comments

[Billk29]

08:33 PM on 04/26/2012

Good luck for the Jays.

[HarukoHaruhara]

03:43 PM on 04/26/2012

Looks like the Mariners got a steal out of this one.

[PrimusElijah]

12:28 PM on 04/26/2012

On a side note, but related...why don't we just annex the Dominican Republic already? They've only been producing some of our best baseball talent for the last few of decades.

[jhNY]

04:12 PM on 04/26/2012

Possibly that tiny nation is interested in continued self-determination-- that would be one reason.

[PrimusElijah]

04:28 PM on 04/26/2012

Sorry, wrong choice of words, as annexation is unilateral. Why don't we offer them unincorporated territory rights like Puerto Rico.

[shawman65]

09:28 AM on 04/26/2012

Costly trade for the Yanks. Montero looks great....

[independentcynic1228]

11:44 AM on 04/26/2012

As a Mariner fan, I honestly was skeptical of the trade. But for once, it looks like Seattle got the better end of the deal this time. (which is rare given how much Seattle has thrown away top players for nothing).

[cameron d]

02:18 PM on 04/26/2012

Ask Frank Costanza about the Jay Buhner deal.

[Spartan112]

06:01 PM on 04/26/2012

Jamie Moyer for Darren Bragg comes to mind.

[Nishu]

05:30 AM on 04/26/2012

Yankees starter Michael Pineda will miss the rest of the MLB season with a torn labrum -http://liveoncampus.com/wire/show/3370662

[noahmarder]

02:46 AM on 04/26/2012

It would really be nice if these injury articles were a bit more specific. Does Pineda's labrum tear involve the biceps anchor? (probably) Does it extend downward to the inferior glenohumeral ligament to form a Bankart lesion? (probably not) Is the anterior capsule involved? How does his rotator cuff look?

Hopefully more information will be forthcoming after his surgery. As a Yankee fan, I'm hoping for the best, but it's hard to make predictions when you don't know what's wrong with him.

[lisakaz2]

12:20 AM on 04/26/2012

Isn't arthroscopic surgery less involved and the extent of the damage unknown UNTIL the surgery? Thus, isn't it jumping the gun to say how long he'll need for recovery?

[JacksonHts]

01:12 AM on 04/26/2012

Check out Labrum tear on Youtube, you will find no end of videos on arthroscopy of the various types of labrum tears.

[noahmarder]

02:35 AM on 04/26/2012

For any sort of soft tissue shoulder repair (which this injury will require, as opposed to merely a debridement), a pitcher will miss the remainder of the season.

Symptomatic labral tears in pitchers tend to involve the long head biceps anchor, and without a direct repair (or possibly a biceps tenodesis), the pain and loss of function won't improve. Even with a well-performed surgery, well under half of pitchers reach their pre-injury level of performance. As a Yankee fan, I'm hoping for the best, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic about Pineda's career prospects at this point.

The article really wasn't very specific about the injury, but I did read from another source that his rotator cuff is fine. I didn't see anything regarding his anterior capsule, which is another trouble spot for pitchers. You are correct about there being some uncertainty about the injury until the surgeon gets in there, but modern MR arthrograms are really pretty accurate.

[crankyCrackPot]

11:42 AM on 04/26/2012

Info appreciated.