Why Yankees’ Tommy Kahnle expects rebound from ‘terrible’ 2018

Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle said he expects to be much better in 2019 while signing autographs for fans in Long Island on Saturday morning.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Reliever Tommy Kahnle remembers being trusted with pressure-packed innings during the Yankees‘ playoff run that nearly brought them to the World Series in 2017.

He wants to show them they’ll be able to trust him again.

“I want to be able to come in and prove that I’m still that guy that they saw two seasons ago. That’s what I’m going to be working toward, getting back to what I was the year before,” Kahnle said while signing autographs at Steiner Sports at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Saturday.

Kahnle had a rough 2018.

It started with an early injury and the loss of crucial mph off his fastball. It ended with him having pitched more games in the minors leagues and getting left off the postseason roster.

“Definitely, I want to build off last season,” he said. “Last season, for me, was terrible, looking at it.”

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Kahnle finished with a 6.56 ERA in 23 1/3 innings over 24 games for the Yankees, who had high hopes for him.

After they acquired him from the White Sox at the 2017 trade deadline, Kahnle was electric, posting a 2.70 ERA in 26 2/3 innings and 32 games.

They saw him being a major part of their bullpen for years in the future.

But Kahnle suffered right shoulder tendonitis and spent more than a month on the disabled list. He said he believed the injury truly showed itself after a 48-pitch outing vs. the Orioles on April 6. He made two more appearances before going on the DL.

“After the Baltimore outing I did not feel good,” he said. “I kind of tried to throw through it and be a hero and it ended up backfiring on me and it kind of cost me the season.”

He added, “I was hurt. Ny shoulder all year was not right. I tried to pitch through it, which made it worse. By the time I got rest, I wasn’t really that right. Before that, struggling didn’t help mentally as well. I was just all over the place last year.”

A healthy offseason should do the trick, said Kahnle, who saw his fastball average drop from 98 mph in 2017 to 95 mph in 2018.

“I really just want to take time off from throwing,” he said. “So, not being on the playoff roster kind of gave me a head start on that. So I got the extra two weeks, and, basically, I’m not going to throw for two months. I’ll start throwing again and see how it feels.

“Right now, it feels great. I’m just trying to get my strength up again and hopefully the velocity will spike back up when I come into spring.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.