Yankees' Joba Chamberlain Inching Closer To Return, Expected To Pitch Second Straight Day
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- The news on Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain has been good. Really good.
The 26-year-old, coming off Tommy John surgery and a freak ankle injury, hasn't pitched in the big leagues since last June. But Chamberlain has been clocked in the high-90s in his rehab outings and may be just a couple steps away from rejoining the Bombers.
He'll pitch for the second straight day Wednesday for Class-A Tampa, according to the New York Post.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told WFAN's Boomer & Carton on Tuesday that Chamberlain's progress has been off the charts.
"Joba's out of control," said Cashman. "The stuff he's featuring is remarkable. He's as high as 100 (mph) but upwards consistently (at) 96, 97, 98. He looks really good."
The right-hander threw nine pitches Tuesday, working one full inning. He has a 1.29 ERA and seven strikeouts in five rehab outings (seven innings). Cashman said the "worst-case" scenario for Chamberlain's return would be early August.
"He's an amazing guy," Cashman told Boomer & Carton. "He's been hurt, he gets hurt a lot, but then his recovery time is like super-human — always beats the standard. So yeah, he's due back here shortly. I mean, the worst-case scenario would be the first week of August, but he should be here ahead of that."
How good do you expect Joba to be when he gets back? Be heard in the comments below...
