Picking up a ball for the first time in three weeks, Dellin Betances admitted to having some nerves.
But the right-hander, who started the season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement and then suffered a setback during a sim game April 11 that required three weeks without throwing, made it through his pregame work Monday that included the restart of a throwing program.
"I was a little nervous to be honest with you," Betances said. "Any time you rest for three weeks, you don't know how you're going to feel but I was really encouraged with what I did today."
Betances, watched by pitching coach Larry Rothschild and trainer Steve Donohue, made 25 throws at 60 feet, the entire session lasting about five minutes. The 31-year-old, who received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder at the beginning of the three-week stretch where he didn't throw, said he'll play catch again on Wednesday. It's the start he said of an "every other day" program that eventually will see him stretch things out to 120 feet and, after that, him getting on a mound and a rehab assignment to follow. But those dates have yet to be determined, as does one for his return, though GM Brian Cashman has said Betances could be back "sometime in June."
"My goal is to just get through the next day and today was a good first step," Betances said. "Obviously it was real light today, but I felt good, which was the main thing."
