Kelley's Return To The 'Pen A Very Welcome One

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(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's been exactly 5 weeks since Shawn Kelley was put on the disabled list with back stiffness and 5 weeks and a day since he last pitched in a Major League game.  Before he hit the DL, Kelley had been a critical part of what, at the time, was an overachieving bullpen.  He had a 3.52/2.36/3.83 line and 16 strikeouts in 15.1 IP, all of them worked as either the setup man or closer.  The Yankee 'pen has stayed afloat and even flourished in parts without Kelley for the past month, primarily because Dellin Betances and Adam Warren have proven that their strong April starts were no fluke.  They've teamed up to build a very sturdy bridge to D-Rob, but the return of Kelley to the late-inning mix tonight should help reset the workload arrangement for the group and make the Yankee 'pen even deeper and better.

Report: Kelley To Return This Week

Shawn Kelley began his MiL rehab assignment over the weekend after making it through another throwing program without further injury to his back.  He pitched 0.2 innings for the Trenton Thunder on Saturday, recording both his outs via the strikeout and walking a batter in 19 pitches.  His back came through that perfectly fine and so the team has decided he can return this week after 1 more rehab appearance.

Joe told reporters before yesterday's game that Kelley would make that final rehab appearance tonight, possibly for Triple-A SWB, and then travel to Seattle to rejoin the team on Wednesday against the Mariners.  I'm a little wary of Kelley pitching and then having to sit down on a cross-country flight with a recovering back, but the Yankees need all the help they can get right now and Kelley will provide a lot for the bullpen.  His return means fewer innings for the mediocre middle relievers and a much-needed break in workload for Betances and Warren.

Kelley Suffers Setback With His Back, Return Schedule On Hold

Shawn Kelley started his week-long rehab schedule on Monday by playing the catch.  If everything went according to plan, there was a chance he would be activated on Sunday.  Things did not go according to plan.  Not even close.

Via Dan Barbarisi, Kelley's rehab work has been shut down after he woke up with stiffness in his back yesterday.  Joe confirmed this to the beat guys before the game and said there is no timetable for when Kelley will try to throw again.  All we know right now is that everything is on hold and he's going to stay on the DL.

Kelley Day-To-Day With Back Tightness

Last night, my old man and I were wondering why Joe didn't have Shawn Kelley warming for the 7th or 8th inning.  The game was close, which almost always means Joe sticks with his regular guys in their regular roles.  Turns out he wasn't available due to an undisclosed back injury.  Kelley said he started feeling a little stiffness in his back during the Angels series and it tightened up worse on him after the flight into Milwaukee.  He went for an MRI, which came back clean, so for now the Yankees are calling him day-to-day and seeing how a few days of rest affects it.

Doesn't sound like a serious problem right now, but it'll be worth following over the next few days.  I wouldn't expect to see Kelley tonight or tomorrow afternoon, so the Yanks are once again working with a short bullpen.

Kelley Out With Triceps Inflammation

When explaining his decision to go to Joba in the 10th, Joe told the media that Shawn Kelley was unavailable last night due to triceps inflammation.  Apparently he's been feeling something recently and although tests showed no structural damage and he won't be going on the DL, Joe stated that Kelley would be out for the rest of this series and the plan is to bring him back sometime next week.

This shortens the bullpen for this critical series and we saw firsthand last night what happens when Joe has to stray away from his top high-leverage guys.  Kelley has been really good this season and without him in that righty setup mix it could mean more innings for Joba or (gulp) Phil Hughes.  Hopefully they get some better starting pitching these next 3 games to lessen the need for good middle relief.