New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka on Thursday threw a bullpen session for the first time since being struck in the head with a ball nearly two weeks ago.
The 31-year-old right-hander threw 30 pitches in his first session after he was hit in the right side of his head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton during an intra-squad scrimmage on July 4.
Manager Aaron Boone told reporters after workouts that he was encouraged by what he saw from Tanaka, who topped out at 91mph on the radar gun.
Tanaka's bullpen session comes two days after he said through a translator that he was not sure if he would be ready to pitch the first time his spot in the rotation came up this season.
Prized free-agent acquisition Gerrit Cole will make his first start in a Yankees uniform when New York open the season against the Washington Nationals on July 23.
Left-hander James Paxton is expected to start the Yankees' next game two days later.
"I'd probably be a little surprised if it's the first rotation through," Boone said of Tanaka's first start.
"And then it's just, again, seeing how his next bullpen goes, seeing how his facing live hitters go.
"Then what's the best decision for us and for Masa as far as do we want to build him up entirely at a big league level or do we want him to continue to build up and get to a point to where he's built up more like a starter?"
New York's rotation also includes veteran left-handers J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery, who is back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in June 2018.