NY Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka is on the 15-day DL with a wrist injury and he could be on his way back soon, as he was able to throw without issue from 60 feet and for fantasy baseball owners still look for replacements this week, Noah Syndergaard, Chris Archer and James Paxton could be solid pickups in 12-team baseball leagues.
Tanaka was placed on the disabled list at the end of April and at the time general manager Brian Cashman said that Tanaka would likely be out for a month. According to hardball Talk, Tanaka was able to throw last week from 60 feet on flat ground, making 50 throws without any issues on his right arm. Tanaka dealt with a forearm strain and he is pitching this season with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, which means he could face Tommy John surgery in the future.
Tanaka was 2-1 this season with a 3.22 ERA in four starts before being placed on the disabled list with a forearm issue. Tanaka has 24 strikeouts in 22 innings this season and last year he was leading the Cy Young race with a 13-5 record and a 2.77 ERA with 141 strikeouts in 136 innings pitched. Two DL stints in two seasons may scare some Yankee fans, but the injury was not serious and Cashman said the shutdown was more of a precautionary move.
The Yankees are hoping that the 26-year-old can last with a torn UCL like Adam Wainwright did for the Cardinals before getting Tommy John surgery eventually. Tanaka is the ace of the Yankees staff and this week fantasy players could look at Noah Syndergaard, Chris Archer and James Paxton as potential options. Paxton has pitched much better at home for the Mariners and he will start in Seattle, while Syndergaard and Archer are scheduled to make two starts this week.
Syndergaard has been hyped up as one of the top prospects for the Mets and he is finally set to make his major league debut for the team. Syndergaard has started off the season strong in the minors with a 3-0 record with a 1.82 ERA in five starts in Las Vegas for the Triple-A team and he has averaged over a strikeout per inning in 30 innings pitched.