New York Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle hasn't had much of a chance to show off his skills since signing a two-year deal with the club in December 2022. However, the right-hander is getting closer and closer to finally joining the Yankees' bullpen for the first time this season.
Kahnle is on track to finish his rehab within May, via Greg Joyce of the New York Post. The former Dodger tossed his first rehab game Wednesday and will pitch on Saturday for Single-A Tampa.
“I feel good so far,” Kahnle said on Friday. “I would say after one more [outing, the stuff] is probably there. But the rest is just getting back into a groove.”
As long as Saturday's outing goes well, he'll then move up to Double-A Somerset, where he'll pitch around three more games before finally returning to the Yankees around May 23rd.
Kahnle is recovering from a shoulder injury he originally suffered last year. After having a setback throwing a live batting practice in March, he was forced to miss the first couple of months of this season.
“The next day, I threw and it didn’t feel great,” said Kahnle. “So I was like, ‘Great, it’s back.’ So I took five days off and then started throwing and it’s been great since. I think I beat it before it got worse.”
Now that he's finally nearing his return, what can New York expect from the 34-year-old?
Kahnle could help the Yankees' bullpen get more strikeouts

While the Yankees bullpen has the best ERA in the MLB at 2.25, it also has just 7.61 strikeouts per nine innings, fifth-lowest in the league. Kahnle, who sports an 11.04 mark, could upgrade the unit's swing-and-miss numbers.
Luckily, New York's relievers have been able to throw to contact to get outs.
“They’ve been great,” Kahnle said. “I feel like everybody’s done well. This bullpen, top to bottom, is really good. You look at Clay (Holmes), he’s absolutely shutting the door. Everybody else is pitching well behind him. That’s all we need. We just need our bullpen to cover what starters give us. I mean, we’re going to hit the ball. Once it gets hotter out, we’re going to see it really take off.”
Holmes has been historically good, throwing 17.1 scoreless innings with 12 saves thus far, via ESPN. The Yankees have also gotten solid seasons from the likes of Luke Weaver (2.59 ERA), Ian Hamilton (2.89 ERA), and Dennis Santana (3.24 ERA). However, Kahnle will provide valuable insurance, as any of those players could start struggling at any time.
Kahnle is in the second year of his two-year, $11.5 million deal, and he'll need to have a solid campaign the rest of the way to earn a new one. Combining that with the competition of standing out amongst the Yankees' other relievers should provide him plenty of motivation.
Kahnle also has a better track record than the majority of New York's current relievers. The nine-year veteran has a career ERA of 3.64, which shows more long-term consistency than players like Weaver and Hamilton can speak of at this point. On paper, he should be able to pitch on their level, but it all depends on how his shoulder responds over time.