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Yankees place Beltran on 15-day DL, recall Flores and Petit

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(Brian Blanco/Getty)
(Brian Blanco/Getty)

The Yankees have placed Carlos Beltran on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain, the team announced. Ramon Flores and Gregorio Petit were both called up from Triple-A Scranton in corresponding moves. Taylor Dugas was optioned down to Triple-A to clear the other roster spot.

Beltran, 38, left Tuesday’s game in Anaheim after grabbing his side during an at-bat. He actually stayed in to finish the at-bat before being removed between innings. Beltran told reporters his oblique had been bothering him for a few days but the discomfort was manageable. Beltran went for tests yesterday that showed the strain.

Although he is hitting an average-ish .260/.309/.430 (102 wRC+) overall this season, Beltran has been much more productive since May 1st, hitting .299/.346/.494 (132 wRC+) in his last 188 plate appearances. The Yankees will miss his bat in the middle of the order for sure. His defense? Not so much. The lineup is a little shorter now though.

Flores wasn’t called up when Beltran initially got hurt because he couldn’t be recalled — he was still in his ten-day window after being sent down last week and the team wasn’t sure if Beltran needed to be placed on the DL yet. His ten days are up now. Beltran’s injury allowed Petit to come back before his ten days were up. He was sent down last weekend.

The Yankees are currently have Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury (knee), Slade Heathcott (quad), and Mason Williams (shoulder) on the DL, so they’re running out of outfielders. Their depth has been put to the test. Ellsbury might be back soon and Williams is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow, but there have been no updates on him. Heathcott will miss several more weeks.

Chris Young and Garrett Jones have both played well of late, though Girardi has given the majority of the playing time to Young, even against righties. My guess is Flores plays left, Young plays right, and Brett Gardner mans center for the time being. Once Ellsbury comes back, they can figure out a new alignment then.

Game 76: Pineda, Yankees going for series win over Astros

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(Presswire)
(Presswire)

I have made the executive decision to downgrade Michael Pineda from Big Mike to Midsize Mike, at least temporarily. Pineda didn’t just get hammered last time out (eight runs in 3.1 innings), he has a 6.10 ERA in his last seven starts and 38.1 innings overall. That dates back to the 16-strikeout game. Pineda has a shiny 2.89 FIP this year. That’s awesome! He also has a 4.25 ERA (93 ERA+). That’s not awesome.

The Yankees need to get Pineda back on track and soon — preferably starting today against the Astros — because I don’t think they can get to the postseason if they’re stuck with Midsize Mike the rest of the season. One thing at a time though. Get the win today, take the four-game series from the Astros, and hope Pineda starts earning back the Big Mike moniker. Here is Houston’s lineup and here is New York’s lineup:

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. 3B Chase Headley
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. C Brian McCann
  6. LF Garrett Jones
  7. RF Chris Young
  8. SS Didi Gregorius
  9. 2B Stephen Drew
    RHP Michael Pineda

There are thunderstorms in Houston today, so the Minute Maid Park roof will be closed once again. This afternoon’s series finale will begin just after 2pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and, depending where you live, MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Roster Move: Guess what? Esmil Rogers is back! He has been called up from Triple-A Scranton and Gregorio Petit was sent down, so the Yankees have a seven-man bullpen and a three-man bench right now. Today was Esmil’s day to start for the RailRiders, so he’s good for a lot of innings if necessary. Slade Heathcott was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Rogers.

Injury Update: Jacoby Ellsbury (knee) hit and ran the bases again today. He’ll head to Tampa tomorrow and will begin playing in minor league rehab games this week, the Yankees say.

Game 73: Warren’s Last Stand?

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"Nice work as a starter, Adam. We have another job in mind for yor." (Presswire)
“Nice work as a starter, Adam. But we have another job in mind for you.” (Presswire)

In a week or so, the Yankees will send a starter to the bullpen and go back to a normal five-man rotation. All signs point to Adam Warren being the odd man out even though he has been no worse than their third best starting pitcher this season. He’s had success in a setup role and the Yankees do need help there, so it’s an easy move. It would be an undeserved demotion to say the least.

Tonight’s series opener against the Astros may be Warren’s chance to show the Yankees he belongs in the rotation, not the bullpen. I honestly have no idea what he needs to do to keep his rotation spot — anything short of a shutout may seal his fate. Life ain’t fair, man. Having too many starting pitchers is a good thing … as long as the five best are actually in the rotation. Here is the Houston lineup and here is New York’s party like it’s 2013 lineup:

  1. CF Chris Young
  2. 3B Chase Headley
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. RF Carlos Beltran
  6. LF Jose Pirela
  7. C John Ryan Murphy
  8. SS Stephen Drew
  9. 2B Gregorio Petit
    RHP Adam Warren

It’s sunny and hot in Houston. The Minute Maid Park roof will probably be closed for air conditioning reasons, not because it’s raining. Tonight’s game will begin at 8:10pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network nationally, depending where you live. Enjoy the game.

Roster Moves: As you can tell from the lineup, both Drew and Petit are back. Drew was activated off paternity leave and Petit was recalled from Triple-A Scranton. Branden Pinder and Diego Moreno were sent down yesterday to make room on the roster. The Yankees are rolling with a six-man bullpen.

Injury Update: Andrew Miller (forearm) played catch again and everything went well. He’ll take tomorrow off then throw again Saturday … Jacoby Ellsbury (knee) is running at 75-85% and isn’t ready for rehab games yet … Brett Gardner and Brian McCann are fine, just an off-day against the lefty starter.

Misc. Update: Andy Pettitte was in the clubhouse and in full uniform before the game. He only threw batting practice though. No comeback planned.

Game 60: Big Mike in Baltimore

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BIG MIKE IS HERE

Following a ten-day hiatus, Big Mike returns to the mound tonight in Baltimore. The Yankees took advantage of their recent off-days by skipping Michael Pineda’s last start in an effort to control his workload. He’s already thrown 70.1 innings this season, just six fewer than last year. Pineda threw only 124.2 innings from 2012-14 due to his shoulder surgery, and in his only full MLB season in 2011, he topped out at 171 innings. The Yankees have to do what they can to keep him healthy.

The seven-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday, but the Yankees have still won eleven of their last 15 games overall, which is awesome. It’s easy to forget how the club rallied from behind Wednesday before two of the last three relievers in the bullpen gave the game away in the late innings. The Yankees are playing pretty well right now. This should be a fun road series against the also hot Orioles. Here is Baltimore’s lineup and here is New York’s lineup:

  1. LF Brett Gardner
  2. 3B Chase Headley
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. C Brian McCann
  6. RF Carlos Beltran
  7. SS Didi Gregorius
  8. 2B Stephen Drew
  9. CF Mason Williams
    RHP Michael Pineda

It has been crazy hot in Baltimore all day. There is some rain in the forecast tonight, nothing too heavy, but it is expected to arrive a little before first pitch. I suppose that means this game may start in a short delay. We’ll see. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Roster Move: Gregorio Petit (hand) was activated off the 15-day DL and optioned to Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees announced. That was expected … Marly Rivera says the recently signed Sergio Santos is in Baltimore and may be activated this weekend. That is unexpected.

Injury Updates: Jacoby Ellsbury (knee) ran again today and continues to progress. He will join the team on their trip to Miami this coming week, then stay behind in Tampa to continue his rehab.

Game 57: Finish the Sweep

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(Adam Hunger/Getty)
(Adam Hunger/Getty)

The streaky 2015 Yankees are hot again, having won five straight and nine of their last 12 games overall. They swept the Royals a week and a half ago, swept the Mariners a few days ago, and today they have a chance to sweep the Angels. Those are three teams many people expected to contend coming into the season. The Yankees? Many counted them out.

Michael Pineda is not on the mound this afternoon. Instead, it’ll be CC Sabathia, who is starting on normal rest thanks to Thursday’s off-day. The Yankees are skipping Pineda’s start this weekend to control his workload. Regardless of who is on the mound, let’s hope the offense keeps up what they’ve been doing. They scored eight runs in each of the first two games of this series, the first time they’ve scored 8+ runs in consecutive games since September 2013, when they did it in three straight games. (They lost all three games!) Here is the Angels’ lineup and here is the Yankees’ lineup:

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. 3B Chase Headley
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. RF Carlos Beltran
  6. LF Chris Young
  7. 2B Jose Pirela
  8. C John Ryan Murphy
  9. SS Didi Gregorius
    LHP CC Sabathia

It’s a very lovely day in New York. Nice and sunny, not too hot … pretty much a perfect afternoon for baseball. This afternoon’s series finale will begin at 1:05pm ET, and you can watch live on YES. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Jacoby Ellsbury (knee) continues to run sprints and stuff like that. He’s increasing the intensity a little each day … Gregorio Petit (hand) will begin a minor league rehab assignment Monday.

Game 50: Late Night on the West Coast

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(Presswire)
(Presswire)

The only thing that sucks worse than a Yankees loss is waiting until late at night for a Yankees loss on the West Coast. The Yankees have dropped the first two games of this four-game series to the Athletics — which team is in first place and which one has the worst record in the league again? — and we’ve had to wait until the wee hours of the morning for both games to go final. Blah.

Anyway, the Yankees have lost two straight and 12 of their last 16 games, yet they somehow aren’t buried in the AL East. Quite the opposite in fact. The division is just that bad. Still, the Yankees can’t keep losing at this pace. The offense, the defense, and the pitching has let them down in not so equal parts. Start righting the ship with a win tonight, mmmkay? Here is the A’s lineup and here is the Yanks’ lineup:

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. 3B Chase Headley
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. C Brian McCann
  6. RF Carlos Beltran
  7. LF Ramon Flores
  8. SS Didi Gregorius
  9. 2B Jose Pirela
    RHP Nathan Eovaldi

It’s cool and foggy in Oakland tonight, though there is no rain in the forecast. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Try to enjoy the game.

Roster Move: As expected, Slade Heathcott (quad) was placed on the 15-day DL and Flores was called up from Triple-A Scranton.

Injury Updates: Jacob Ellsbury (knee) is working out in a pool and getting treatment. That’s about it … Garrett Jones is dealing with plantar fasciitis but it’s manageable … Gregorio Petit (hand) has started taking batting practice … Brendan Ryan (calf, hamstring) has started playing in Extended Spring Training games.

Game 42: Big Mike Back Home

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BIG MIKE IS HERE

The Yankees are finally back home in the Bronx. They played 15 of their last 19 and 25 of their last 35 games on the road — not surprisingly, they’ve played the most road games in MLB — but are now home for a six-game homestand, which starts tonight against the Rangers. Nineteen of their next 31 games will be at Yankee Stadium.

It’s good to be home, but geez, the Yankees really need to win tonight. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games and haven’t won a non-CC Sabathia start since Michael Pineda struck out 16 Orioles nearly two weeks ago. Big Mike is on the mound tonight and he is the undisputed staff ace while Masahiro Tanaka is on the DL. Time for the ace to end the three-game losing streak and start the homestand off right. Here is the Rangers’ lineup and here is the Yankees’ lineup:

  1. LF Brett Gardner
  2. RF Carlos Beltran
  3. DH Alex Rodriguez
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. C Brian McCann
  6. 3B Chase Headley
  7. 2B Stephen Drew
  8. SS Didi Gregorius
  9. CF Slade Heathcott
    RHP Michael Pineda

It was absolutely gorgeous in New York earlier today, but some clouds have rolled in and it’s pretty gloomy right. There’s a very tiny little bit of rain in the forecast but nothing that will impact the game. First pitch is set for 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: No timetable yet for Jacoby Ellsbury (knee), who will see the team doctor tonight … Masahiro Tanaka (wrist, forearm) will throw 65 pitches in his next Triple-A rehab start on Wednesday … Chris Martin (elbow) is playing catch and getting close to throwing off a mound … Gregorio Petit (hand) still is unable to swing a bat.