Yankees get promising injury update on key reliever

New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle hasn’t had much of a chance to show off his skills since signing a two-year deal with the club in December 2022. However, the right-hander is getting closer and closer to finally joining the Yankees’ bullpen for the first time this season.

Kahnle is on track to finish his rehab within the month of May, via Greg Joyce of the New York Post. The former Dodger tossed his first rehab game Wednesday, and will pitch on Saturday for Single-A Tampa.

“I feel good so far,” Kahnle said on Friday. “I would say after one more [outing, the stuff] is probably there. But the rest is just getting back into a groove.”

As long as Saturday’s outing goes well, he’ll then move up to Double-A Somerset, where he’ll pitch around three more games before finally returning to the Yankees around May 23rd.

Kahnle is recovering from a shoulder injury he originally suffered last year. After having a setback throwing a live batting practice in March, he was forced to miss the first couple of months of this season.

“The next day, I threw and it didn’t feel great,” said Kahnle. “So I was like, ‘Great, it’s back.’ So I took five days off and then started throwing and it’s been great since. I think I beat it before it got worse.”

Now that he’s finally nearing his return, what can New York expect from the 34-year-old?

Kahnle could help the Yankees’ bullpen get more strikeouts