Masahiro Tanaka to start on Sunday vs. Blue Jays; Mark Teixeira out of lineup with wrist soreness

Masahiro Tanaka will return from a partially torn UCL on Sunday in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees announced Tuesday afternoon. Joe Girardi said Tanaka would be limited to about 75 pitches in his first start since tearing around 10% of his UCL months ago and undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection to go along with rest and rehab to try and heal the tendon. After pitching in a game against minor leaguers on Monday, Tanaka's arm felt good enough that the team thinks it's time to see what he can do in a big league game. Further, the team would likely feel more comfortable knowing whether or not they will have to send their ace pitcher to Dr. Andrews for Tommy John surgery once he tries to throw a game worth of pitches. There is still a chance that Tanaka will need the procedure before all is said and done, but it is good that he will get in a start before the offseason for further evaluation. Tanaka says he feels like one big league start would be enough to give him an idea of how his arm is, as well as give him confidence heading into the offseason.

On the other side of the injury coin, Mark Teixeira is out of the lineup indefinitely with soreness in his surgically repaired wrist. There is no timetable for his return as of now, and he is supposed to let the team know when he feels like he is able to play again. Unfortunately, this is just more of the same for Teixeira, who has missed time throughout the season with bumps and bruises here and there. Maybe the wrist hurting has been the cause of his abysmal play, but if that's the case then it has certainly been hurting a majority of the season. If Teixeira cannot stay on the field, the rest of his contract is going to look even more ugly than it already does.

Martin Prado's appendix was removed before it could burst, according to Joe Girardi. That sounds like at least a small bullet was dodged there. Unfortunately, the Yankees will have to conclude the season without one of their hottest hitters as of late. Francisco Cervelli returns to the lineup tonight after missing time with migraine headaches. He is catching tonight while, in the absence of Teixeira, Brian McCann moves over to first base.