Yankees Notebook: Scott Effross takes day-by-day approach to Tommy John rehab
TAMPA — Scott Effross doesn’t have a definitive timeline for his return from Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees reliever has been throwing for a couple of weeks now.
The side-arming righty is up to 60 feet in distance, and he’ll continue to incrementally increase that number. But Effross is not thinking about when he’ll be back pitching for the Yankees. Instead, “I’m just trying to look day-to-day,” he told the Daily News at the team’s spring training complex on Wednesday.
The Yanks acquired Effross from the Cubs last August in exchange for pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski. The 29-year-old pitched well over 13 games, recording a 2.13 ERA while picking up three saves. He finished the season with a 2.54 ERA over 60 total outings.
The Yankees planned on making Effross an integral part of their postseason bullpen, but news that he needed surgery broke just after the team revealed a playoff roster that didn’t include him on Oct. 11.
On Wednesday, he noted a 12-month recovery at minimum, though he didn’t want to put a date on his return when asked if he’s been completely ruled out for the 2023 season.
Getting healthy in time for next spring training is the more likely scenario.
“The key is volume, as I’ve been told by the training staff and everybody who’s gone through it,” Effross said of rehab. “Have to build your volume up and take your time at each little step to retrain your new ligament. It takes a while, but it’s going really well so far.”
Effross, who is under team control through 2027, will rehab in Tampa, though he said he’ll try to make it to New York when he can. He’ll also make an effort to see his teammates when the Yankees visit the Tampa Bay Rays.
KING OF THE HILL
Michael King has enjoyed a stellar spring after his 2022 breakout campaign ended with a freak injury, a stress fracture in his throwing elbow. The right-hander added another 2.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Nationals, thus maintaining his 0.00 ERA.
King has thrown 8.1 frames over five appearances. He seems fine returning to the multi-inning role that made him such a valuable part of the Yankees’ bullpen last season.
RECOMMENDATIONS REJECTED
The Athletic’s Evan Drellich recently reported that Major League Baseball could adjust some of its new rules before Opening Day, but a Wednesday story from ESPN’s Jeff Passan said that the league “will continue with the parameters of the pitch clock that players have been using all spring.”
That news comes a day after the Yankees’ Luis Severino and Aaron Boone made some recommendations for tweaking the pitch clock after Severino was called for a violation. Severino suggested pitchers should get 20 seconds to throw the ball with no one on base, instead of 15. He added that batters should get an extra timeout if an at-bat goes beyond 10 pitches — a change that would also help pitchers in need of a breather.
Boone also said that umps should be allowed more discretion when it comes to the rule that states hitters must be alert to the pitcher with eight seconds left on the clock.
THE BIG APPLE
Major League Baseball is returning to AppleTV+ — at a cost.
After offering Friday night games for free last season, Apple will restrict its baseball broadcasts to subscribers in 2023. That includes two Yankees games during the first half of the regular season (and potentially more in the second half). The Bombers will be on AppleTV+ when they host the Blue Jays on April 21 and when they welcome the Padres on May 26, per an Apple release.
AppleTV+ is $6.99 per month, but it comes with a seven-day free trial, among other ways to work around the price tag.
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