New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.
Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York performed the procedure and said it went as expected. The Yankees added that the spur was a pre-existing condition from Tanaka’s career in Japan before he came to the United States to pitch in the major leagues. The recovery is expected to take six weeks, which would enable Tanaka to be ready for the start of spring training in February.
The 26-year-old Tanaka started 24 games for the Yankees in 2015 and posted a 12-7 record with a 3.51 ERA in 154 innings. He also started the Yankees’ American League wild-card game in the playoffs and worked five innings, giving up four hits and two runs, in New York’s 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros.
—Agent Scott Boras purchased injury protection insurance of an undisclosed amount on New York Mets right-handed pitcher Matt Harvey to reclaim a potential loss in earnings that would result from reinjury.
Boras had a public beef with the Mets about overextending Harvey in his first year back to the mound after Tommy John elbow surgery. Harvey is on pace to set a record for innings pitched in his first season back to the mound after the ligament replacement operation if the Mets reach the World Series. The record of 215 innings was set by John Lackey.
Boras made a similar move on behalf of Max Scherzer, but the policy was not used. Harvey is under contract with the Mets until 2018, including arbitration this winter. He made a salary of $614,125 this season.
—The Baltimore Orioles claimed right-hander Vance Worley off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
Worley was dropped from the Pirates’ 40-man roster after pitching in 23 games this season and starting eight. He posted a 4-6 record with a 4.02 ERA in 71 2/3 innings.
The 28-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Pirates after three years with the Philadelphia Phillies and one with the Minnesota Twins. He has a 27-22 career record with a 3.77 ERA in 81 games and 73 starts.