Pineda has setback, scratched from next outing

NEW YORK -- Michael Pineda's journey back to the big leagues will take longer than initially anticipated, as the Yankees right-hander is continuing to feel discomfort in a muscle behind his right shoulder.

Manager Joe Girardi said that Pineda reported an issue after playing catch on Friday and was flown to New York, where an MRI revealed inflammation near the teres major muscle in his upper back. That prompted the Yankees to scratch Pineda from an intrasquad outing in Tampa, Fla., that had been scheduled for Sunday.

"He's got some inflammation still in that area and he'll be shut down for a little bit of time here, and then we'll try to get him going again," Girardi said. "It's not the news we wanted, but it's what we're dealing with."

The Yankees had hoped to have Pineda rejoin their big league rotation in June. Acquired from the Mariners in a January 2012 trade, Pineda has made just four starts for New York, all of them coming in April of this season. He was 2-2 with a 1.83 ERA in those outings, which included an April 23 game at Fenway Park in which he was ejected for having pine tar on his neck.

"I believe he'll get healthy and he'll be extremely productive for us, but we've got to get him back," Girardi said. "That's the thing. He's going to be shut down for a while, and then we'll try it again."