Brian Cashman says Michael Pineda won't return before September

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees will be without Michael Pineda until at least September because of his right forearm strain.

"We are not going to see him pitching in major league games in August," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on Tuesday. "Obviously, September is when we plan to unleash him again at some point."

Pineda, 26, is 9-7 with a 3.97 ERA. He was put on the 15-day disabled list last week.

Pineda and Tuesday's starter, Masahiro Tanaka, are anticipated to be the Yankees' No. 1 and No. 2 starters in the playoffs, if the Yankees can hold onto what was a 5 game lead in the AL East to begin Tuesday.

"I feel like our top two can match up with anyone's top two, as long as they are healthy," Cashman said. "We are talking about Tanaka and Pineda, as long as they are at full strength."

Even with Pineda out, Cashman chose to not trade for a starter before the July 31 deadline. Behind Tanaka, the Yankees are going with the improving Nathan Eovaldi, the struggling CC Sabathia and the solid Ivan Nova.

On Wednesday, Luis Severino, the Yankees' top prospect, will make his debut. The Yankees also have another youngster, righty Bryan Mitchell, whom they may use as a starter down the stretch.

Manager Joe Girardi made it sound unlikely that the team would try to stretch out Adam Warren to make him a starter. Warren, who outpitched Sabathia as a starter, has been in the bullpen for more than a month, so Girardi said he thinks Warren could throw only about 50 pitches in a game. The Yankees are not prepared to build him up as a starter unless, according to Girardi, a dire circumstance were to arise.