Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of New York Yankees teammate Giancarlo Stanton on Saturday. The veteran pitcher is expected to be fine, but he did suffer a concussion.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the media on Sunday that Tanaka was diagnosed with a “mild concussion.” Fortunately, most of the right-hander’s concussion-like symptoms have already gone away.
Per #Yankees manager Aaron Boone, official diagnosis for Masahiro Tanaka (amazingly) was just a "mild concussion." Boone said Tanaka had regular appetite, regular sleep, and most of the concussion-like symptoms have dissipated.
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) July 5, 2020
Tanaka was hit in the side of the head by the Stanton line drive during a simulated game. He was able to turn his head just in time to avoid having the ball hit him in the face, and it sounds like he is fortunate all things considered. He tweeted after the game that he was “all good.”
While he is currently in MLB’s concussion protocol, Tanaka should be available when the regular season starts barring any setbacks. The 31-year-old went 11-9 with a 4.45 ERA last season and made his second All-Star appearance.
