Pineda Throws Sim Game, Comeback Continues

Michael Pineda's journey back from serious shoulder surgery reached another big milestone yesterday when he threw his first simulated game at the team's MiL complex in Tampa.  Pineda has been throwing BP sessions for a few weeks now, and is slowly working his complete pitch repertoire back into the mix, but yesterday was the first time that he threw in a real serious game-type situation.

Both Bryan Hoch and Chad Jennings had the details on the session and they all sound positive.  Joe was in attendance and said he was, "happy with what I saw," calling Pineda's performance "pretty good" for a first sim game.  Pineda reportedly threw his fastball, changeup, and slider during the outing and while there was no radar gun on him (as there shouldn't be yet) the consensus seemed to be that he threw the ball very well.

There's still a ways to go and Pineda's rehab countdown still hasn't started, so he's got plenty of time to continue to work at the pace deemed best by the team.  But this does represent another important step forward for Pineda, who could become a key mid-season addition if the back end of the rotation continues to struggle.