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The Yankees have placed left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list with fluid in his knee after an MRI revealed no tear in the meniscus. Matt Daley has been called up to replace Sabathia on the roster, and Chase Whitley was scratched from his Triple-A start today, possibly signaling that he could be another option heading to the Bronx.
Joe Girardi says that they are all hopeful Sabathia will only need the minimum 15 days to get back onto the field. After only a little more than a month of the season, the Yankees have already lost three of their starting pitchers to injury. Ivan Nova is out for the rest of the season and Girardi said today that he expects it to take more than the originally-stated four weeks for Michael Pineda to return. That means that Vidal Nuno, David Phelps, and Alfredo Aceves (presumably) will all need to succeed in meaningful starter innings.
Sabathia's next start is scheduled for Thursday against the Mets. Whether the team goes with the veteran Aceves or rolls the dice with Whitley, who has been quite good for the RailRiders this season, the decision will have to be figured out before then. This season was supposed to be a departure of all the seemingly constant injuries that plagued the team in 2013, but so far it hasn't really been that. At least it has been mostly confined to the rotation, if there is a silver lining in all that.
Is it too soon to put Masahiro Tanaka in some bubble wrap?