Joe Girardi: Tanaka could start early next week in Seattle

Masahiro Tanaka is expected to return to the New York Yankees rotation next week after missing more than a month with forearm soreness and wrist tendinitis.

Tanaka, who struggled in his second and final rehab appearance this week, will start either Tuesday or Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners, according to manager Joe Girardi.

"We'll have a heart-to-heart talk with him, how he feels about where he's at," Girardi told reporters. "You don't want someone going out there if they don't quite feel that they're ready to go. In a perfect world, he would start somewhere in Seattle."

Tanaka was roughed up for three earned runs and four hits over three innings for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Wednesday, relying mostly on his off-speed stuff due to poor fastball command and velocity.

Tanaka threw 44 of his 62 pitches for strikes against the Pawtucket Red Sox, but more importantly showed no symptoms of the forearm strain that forced him to the disabled list four days after making his last start April 23.

"His slider was really good, he didn't throw a ton of splits," Girardi said. "He made a few mistakes with a fastball and a split. But the big thing for us is that he came out healthy."