Posada Day-To-Day, Roster Moves Coming

Good morning Fackers. Last night, Jorge Posada's MRI revealed a minor calf strain. (Note: That is not Posada's actual MRI. We don't condone HIPAA violations here) He is day-to-day; just like you and me. Given this latest bump to go with last week's bruise, the Yankees will likely want another catcher around until Jorge is back to one hundred percent.

As such, I would expect the team will continue to go with just four outfielders for the time being. Rather than recalling Greg Golson or Chad Huffman, as had been rumored, the Yankees will likely add a third catcher when they send out their current eighth reliever.

Posada and Francisco Cervelli are the only catchers currently on the 40 man roster, so a series of moves will be required. Here's what to expect:

• Mark Melancon will likely be optioned down. Boone Logan, and to a far lesser extent David Robertson, are also candidates.


• Initially, Christian Garcia will be recalled. Garcia underwent his second Tommy John surgery last month and is out for the entirety of 2010. He'll immediately be placed on the 60 day disabled list, which will remove him from the currently full 40 man roster.


• Chad Moeller, who spent part of 2008 with the Yankees and is currently Jesus Montero's back up in Scranton, will have his contract purchased, adding him to the 40 man. He'll then be recalled to fill the roster spot vacated by Melancon/Garcia.

One other thing to consider regarding Posada's leg ailments: when he suffered the initial knee bruise last Wednesday, Baseball Prospectus' injury expert, Will Carroll, passed along the following, cautioning that Posada's injury could be a nagging one, and potentially cause subsequent problems:

Ben Wolf, a smart guy you'll be hearing from in the near future in this space, points out something about Posada getting hit by a pitch Wednesday that hadn't occurred to me: "Was reading your latest column and saw that Posada was hit in the fibular head (I had just read knee in the general news). Even if there isn't a fracture, there's a risk of the injury being more of a long-term problem if he ends up with any restriction in the superior tibiofibular joint, especially considering the demands of a catcher squatting on the knee (including that joint specifically I think), not to mention any mechanistic problems he could have running."

Last night's calf problem could just be coincidental, but it bears watching as the next several weeks unfold. The Yankees had to suffer through the majority of a season without Posada the last time Moeller was around. It's not an experience they, or any of us, want to repeat.

Rehab Roundup

We'll be back with the exciting conclusion of the 1996 World Series tomorrow. But now, as we approach tonight's game preview, let's take a quick look at the Yankees who are currently on the disabled list.

Xavier Nady will officially start his rehab assignment with AAA Scranton tomorrow. All Nady's previous rehab action came in extended spring training games, so his thirty day rehab clock starts tomorrow. Chances are he'll be back with the big club long before his time is up.

Jose Molina is working out in Tampa, as is Damaso Marte who continues to play catch with The Memory of Carl Pavano.

Lastly, Cody Ransom continues to rehab with AAA Scranton. RAB's Mike Axisa pointed out last night that Ransom rehab clock runs out on Wendesday, meaning he'll have to be activated or cut loose. Since Ransom is on the 60 day DL he doesn't currently count against the 40 man roster. Thanks to DFAing Jose Veras last Tuesday, the Yankees have an open spot on their 40 man for Ransom.

The quesion is, who goes off the Major League roster? Logic would dictate Angel Berroa. However logic dictated that he would be gone at innumerable points over the past six weeks. It wouldn't surprise me to see Ramiro Pena sent down and see Berroa hang on to his spot until Nady is ready to return. I'm not advocating for this move, but Berroa has more lives than a cat.

Speaking of Veras, the Yankees have until either Thursday or Friday to trade him or else he will be released. It's also possible that the team is holding the empty 40 man spot for a potential return on a Veras trade, but I highly doubt anyone would give up anything of value for him.

Lastly, CC Sabathia could not receive treatment at The Ted yesterday due to the makeup game between the Cubs and Braves. He is scheduled to throw a bullpen today and insists he will start on schedule against the Mets on Friday. If he can't, the A.J. Burnett suspension will leave the Yanks without a starter for that game, meaning Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves would likely spot start.

Has Anyone Seen This Man?

When Damaso Marte was placed on the DL on May 3rd with left shoulder tendinitis/ inflammation, he had only pitched 5.1 innings in the first month of the season, allowed 14 baserunners and 9 earned runs.  Entering 2009, he was considered one of the Yankees best options for the 8th inning, but now he has faded into the oblivion of the disabled list. It's been over three weeks since he's been placed on the DL and the latest updates I could find were that he's started a throwing program (on level ground) but there is no timetable for his return.

Since coming to the Yankees as part of the Xavier Nady deal, Marte has not been good. At all. In 32 games in pinstripes (23.1 innings) his ERA stands at 7.60 and he has a WHIP of 1.521. Much was made of the one outing in Texas on August 4th last year where Joe Girardi left in him for 42 pitches, a total he had reached only one other time since April 20th, 2002. That's all well and good, but he had the entire offseason to recover and as documented above, was terrible to begin this year. 

Perhaps the Yankees are taking their time with Marte's return because he is less than two months into the 3 year/$12M contract they gave him this offseason. By the time the free agent market collapsed, it looked like a pretty bad deal. Now that he has been ineffective/totally absent for the first seven weeks of the season, it's starting to look worse.

Despite the epic suckitude Marte has displayed with the Yankees, he still has a career ERA of 3.43. He's 34 years old, so perhaps injuries are catching up to him and his best baseball is him. However, the Yankees could really use to stability at the back end of their bullpen and unfortunately, barring a trade, Marte still represents one of their best options.