The Yankees needed to make a flurry of roster moves today all before noon. They will be recalling Ramon Flores from Triple-A in order to replace Mason Williams, who will be going on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Williams recently jammed his shoulder on the base paths, and though it was said to be nothing serious, it seems things have changed. It's great that the Yankees have given Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, and Ramon Flores a chance this year, but they need to actually stay healthy. Mason was hitting .286/.318/.890 before getting hurt, while Flores hit .269/.269/.577 before being optioned. The 23-year-old outfielder is well known for his good eye at the plate, so that OBP should separate shortly.
In a surprise turn of events, it has been announced that Sergio Santos will require Tommy John surgery to repair the elbow injury he was recently placed on the DL for. The right-hander showed mixed results in his brief stint in the Bronx, but I guess we'll always have that night where he got out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam without allowing a run to score. After one night up in the majors, Bryan Mitchell has been optioned back down to Triple-A and Danny Burawa will get the call. This is his first stint in the majors, meaning he'll be the sixth player to make his MLB debut this season for the Yankees. Burawa currently has a 1.75 ERA in 26 innings at Triple-A Scranton.
With these roster moves, the Yankees will have a bullpen of Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Chasen Shreve, Chris Capuano, Branden Pinder, Danny Burawa, and Jose De Paula, who has oddly yet to pitch. He'll be another player to make his major league debut when he does get into a game, if he ever does. After losing Mason and Slade to injury, and with Jacoby Ellsbury still out, the Yankees have no more center fielders to add to the roster. They'll have to rely on some combination of Brett Gardner and Chris Young until someone gets healthy.