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Yankees’ Jameson Taillon takes big rehab step at current rival’s facility

Adam Weinrib|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 03: Jameson Taillon #50 of the New York Yankees in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on October 03, 2021 in New York City. New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 03: Jameson Taillon #50 of the New York Yankees in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on October 03, 2021 in New York City. New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Yankees starter Jameson Taillon walked off the mound proudly at the end of his first season in the Bronx, gutting through an ankle tendon injury to hold back the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 162 of the regular season.

Through nearly no fault of his own, Taillon’s star diminished in September after a sterling August, and he was unable to play a role in the Yankees’ lone playoff game before the season wrapped prematurely.

Entering Year 2 — surprise, surprise, par for the course — the right-hander is facing adversity yet again, traversing through a difficult injury rehab without the help of team doctors following the Dec. 1 lockout, which remains ongoing.

Don’t call it a comeback, though, because it seems like Taillon is approaching semi-normalcy already — with his teammates by his side.

Taillon showed off his first post-surgery throws in private a few weeks back, and has now progressed to the mound for the first time, as he showed off on Thursday night.

The curveball artist pulled up at Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino’s lab (no hard feelings) and brought fellow righty Michael King with him for his much-awaited return to the bump.

Yankees starter Jameson Taillon had a big rehab step at Adam Ottavino’s lab.

Now … if we could only get this damn sport unlocked, we might actually be getting somewhere.

Taillon stood in solidarity with his teammates last week as the MLBPA looks to put up a united front as negotiations really get going (or, at least they’d better get going).

His lockout has been particularly arduous because he’s had to improvise a rehab schedule without consulting the team. Taillon has come back from Tommy John and testicular cancer, but being fine in the arm/shoulder, yet still unable to push off because of a separate ailment, is a different beast.

The Taillon-to-King-to-closer combo could be deadly this year if the young two-seam artist continues to show off the stuff he displayed in middle relief late last year when 2022 opens.

We’re so excited to see Taillon on a mound bending curveballs that we’ll even forgive him relying on the kindness of a Red Sox to get back to action.

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