Michael Pineda Likely to Undergo Tommy John Surgery on Elbow Injury

The injury woes for Michael Pineda continue, as it was announced Friday that the New York Yankees pitcher has a partial UCL tear in his right elbow, according to Scout.com's Max Wildstein. 

The New York Daily News' Mike Mazzeo reported Pineda is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery but will seek a second opinion before making a determination. 

Last year marked the first time Pineda hit the 30-start barrier in his career. He also showed a tremendous ability to miss bats with 207 strikeouts in 175.2 innings.

The 28-year-old has been able to repeat that success in 2017 with 92 strikeouts in 96.1 innings, and he's also dropped his ERA from 4.82 to 4.39. 

Pineda's biggest obstacle to success in the big leagues has been staying healthy. He has started to shift that narrative, but any time something goes wrong, it will be cause for extra concern given his long list of injuries, including not being able to pitch at all in 2012-13.

The Yankees do have depth in their rotation with CC Sabathia, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka to get by without Pineda, although Tanaka's struggled mightily this season.