New York Yankees News: Masahiro Tanaka Undergoes Elbow Surgery

Prior to the New York Yankees signing Masahiro Tanaka from the Rakuten Golden Eagles, a bone spur that was lodged in his pitching elbow nearly caused the Yankees to avoid signing him.

The physical revealed that it wouldn’t be an issue, and the Yankees eventually signed Tanaka to his seven-year/ $155 MM deal plus a $20 MM posting fee that was paid to the Golden Eagles.

Two years later, an MRI at the end of this season revealed that the bone spur had increased in size, and Tanaka told the Yankees medical staff that he wanted it removed.

Tuesday morning Tanaka successfully underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove the spur, and now he’ll have to wait four-to-six weeks before resuming activity.

"“When we signed him, the MRI showed an old bone spur. This year he never complained,’’ general manager Brian Cashman told George King III of the New York Post. “There were no complaints all year. Then last week Tanaka said he wanted it removed.”"

While bone spurs are common for major league pitchers and aren’t usually considered major medical setbacks, this is still the third incident in Tanaka’s pitching arm since he signed with the New York Yankees in 2014. This is the only incident that required surgery, but a slight tear in his UCL-ligament nearly caused him to undergo tommy john surgery during his rookie season with the Yankees.

Though Tanaka is expected to make a full return for spring training, the bone spur is yet another injury to a depleted Yankees pitching staff that saw five starters spend significant time on the DL in 2015. Only Adam Warren and rookie Luis Severino remained injury free through the end of the season.

New York Yankees News: Masahiro Tanaka Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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