Yankees injuries: Three injured players returning means roster moves ahead

With Mark Teixeira and David Robertson set to return in the next few days, the Yankees are going to need to make room on the roster in order to activate them from the DL. The guys who are the most likely candidates for packing their bags are Scott Sizemore, Dean Anna, Yangervis Solarte, Vidal Nuno or Cesar Cabral.

After seriously struggling in last night's game against the Rays, where he hit three batters and had zero command, Cabral was almost immediately designated for assignment. It happened within forty minutes of the game ending. That clears up one spot, possibly. Apparently they chose to DFA Cabral in order to bring up Matt Daley, who was not on the 40-man roster. It could be that Daley would be sent back down when Robertson is activated. Chad Jennings speculated that Vidal Nuno is the likely starter for Sunday's game, which may make him the odd man out, because he probably wouldn't be available to pitch again until Thursday. Nuno could be sent down leaving Matt Thornton as the only lefty reliever in the bullpen.

Scott Sizemore was called up most recently, as he got the nod after Francisco Cervell's injury. He has an opt out clause, so the Yankees probably won't risk losing him. Anna and Sizemore are both versatile, but Sizemore has more experience in the majors (if that counts for anything), and it seems like Sizemore could also be a decent backup option at first base. Participate in a triple-play during your first base debut? No big deal.

Brendan Ryan played in a sim game yesterday, and said he's hoping to be activated in about two weeks, though he still needs to get 40-50 at-bats in. The Yankees will also need to clear a spot on the roster to make room for him. Since Dean Anna has been filling the role of backup shortstop, which is supposed to be Ryan's job, it makes even more sense that Anna would be sent down. Yangervis Solarte seems as though he's here to stay, at least for the time being, since he's hitting .373/.448/.569 with an OPS of 1.017.

Since we already know that Cabral has been DFA'd, I would think that Anna, Nuno and possibly Daley, are most likely to be sent down in order to make room for Robertson, Tex, and eventually Ryan. Solarte has hit his way on to the team, and the Yankees probably wouldn't want to risk losing Sizemore. Who do you think the Yankees will move to make room for all the players set to come off of the DL? Are you surprised that Cabral was DFA'd so quickly after the one bad outing?