New York Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda is back to taking small step towards his Bronx debut after being shut down for several weeks, reports Mark Polishuk of the New York Post.
Pineda has been throwing side sessions with the Yankees' High-A affiliate, and could step things up in the near future if his shoulder doesn't start acting up again.
The 24-year-old right-hander was actually active and pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for nearly a month, but was shut down on Aug. 4 when he felt stiffness in his shoulder during an outing. In his brief time with the RailRiders -- his first time on an active roster of any sort in the organization in well over a year -- Pineda posted a pretty decent 3.80 earned run average in 23⅔ innings, racking up 26 strikeouts to just six walks.
The right-hander's journey to pitch for the Yankees has been a long and arduous one. Acquired in January 2012 for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi, Pineda injured his shoulder during spring training and has been trying to work his way back ever since.
The Yankees originally planned to ease Pineda into the big-league pitching staff with some time in the bullpen at some point during the second half, but now there is no real timetable for his Yankees debut. The club has three starting pitchers -- Phil Hughes, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda -- headed for either free agency or retirement in the fall, so if Pineda wants to make an impact in the organization, next spring is probably his best window to do so.
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