The Yankees have designated catcher Chris Stewart for assignment so that they could call up 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brett Gardner. Gardner has played in 80 games in AAA for the Yanks this season and he is 81 for 282 (.287 avg, .841 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 29 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Gardner will probably get a lot of playing time until Hideki Matsui is ready to return from the D.L. Gardner brings a new demension for the Yanks’ offense as he’s a very fast baserunner.

The Yankees have placed OF/DH Hideki Matsui on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left knee. Matsui has played in 69 games this season for the Yankees and he is 81 for 251 (.323 avg, .862 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 7 homers and 34 RBIs. This will hurt the Yankees as they are not as deep as they have been in the past and Matsui is a very clutch hitter.

The Yankees have claimed righty reliever Oneli Perez off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. He was having a rough time in AAA this season as he has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) there and he was 0-1 with 2 saves, a 8.49 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. Perez was a highly thought of and very productive pitcher in the minors in the White Sox system prior to this year. Perez pitched in 184 games (3 starts) in his minor league career prior to 2008 and he was 24-11 with 35 saves and a 2.14 ERA. It never hurts to add an arm like Perez’ especially when he comes for free.

UPDATE: The Yankees have designated Oneli Perez for assignment. Wow, that was quick.

The Yankees have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract but they added him to the 40-man roster. That way he is much easier to bring up to the majors. The Yankees hope that he only needs a couple of starts in the minors before he’s ready to join them. Ponson started 9 games for the Rangers this season and he was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 268 games (254 starts) in his major league career and he is 86-102 with 1 save, a 4.90 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Yankees hope Ponson is better than he was in 2006 for them as he pitched in 5 games (3 starts) that season for the Yankees and he was 0-1 with a 10.47 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. The Yankees will need someone much better than Ponson to replace Chien-Ming Wang if they want to return to the playoffs in 2008.

Johnny Damon is as hot as a firecracker right now with a bat in his hands. He has played in 15 games this June and he is 28 for 63 (.444 avg, 1.056 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. His hot streak has really jump started the Yankees’ offense this month as it finally appears to be hitting on all cylinders. Damon has now played in 67 games this season for the Yanks and he is 85 for 259 (.328 avg, .890 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 6 homers, 31 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Maybe some of Damon’s recent success will rub off on some of his teammates and if that happens the Yanks will be scoring a ton of runs.