I think the Yankees shouldn’t wait to call up 39-year old lefty starting pitcher Andy Pettitte too much longer. The back end of the starting rotation is a mess for the Yankees. Pettitte has started 3 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Pettitte has given up 11 hits and he has walked 1 batter in his first 12 innings in the minors while striking out 8 batters. Pettitte retired last year, but he still felt like he had something left in the tank…so he came back. Pettitte started 21 games for the Yankees in 2010 and he was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

UPDATE: (5/11/2012) - Andy Pettitte is going to make his Yankees’ debut this Sunday against the Mariners.

The Yankees have called up 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder DeWayne Wise. Wise played in 20 games in AAA-ball for the Yankees this year and he was 25 for 75 (.333 avg, .984 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 4 homers, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Wise has played in 445 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 180 of 821 (.219 avg, .629 OPS) with 112 runs scored, 22 homers, 82 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Wise is a rock solid defensive player, so look for him to be used late in games for the Yanks.

The Yankees signed 32-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano to eventually replace Mariano Rivera as the closer two winters ago. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. Soriano has now pitched in 393 games (8 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 15-23 with 90 saves, a 2.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. But, 27-year old righty reliever David Robertson would be my choice to close for the Yankees. He has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Yankees and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has 18 whiffs in only 11 innings so far this year, which is eye popping. Robertson has now pitched in 215 games (0 starts) in his five years with the Yankees and he is 14-6 with 3 saves, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Whichever pitcher the Yankees choose to replace Rivera will likely do a solid job as they both have good track records in the majors.

42-year old righty closer Mariano Rivera tore his right ACL last night while shagging flies in batting practice before the game against the Royals. He is done for the season and maybe his career due to this injury. Rivera pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this year and he was 1-1 with 5 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has now pitched in 1,051 games (10 starts) in his 18 years with the Yankees and he is 76-58 with 608 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Rivera is already Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in saves with 608 of them. He has also been a wizard for the most part in the post-season for the Yankees. He has pitched in 96 games (0 starts) in the post-season for the Yankees and he is 8-1 with 42 saves, a 0.70 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. If this is the end of Rivera’s career (or not), he is going to go down as the best closer in baseball history.

The Yankees have placed 34-year old lefty swinging 3B/1B Eric Chavez on baseball’s new 7-day disabled list due to a concussion. Chavez has played in 15 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 9 for 31 (.290 avg, .884 OPS) with 6 runs, 3 homers and 5 RBIs. Chavez has re-established himself as a pretty solid major league player in his first two years with the Yankees. He has played in 73 games for the Yankees so far in his career and he is 51 for 191 (.267 avg, .710 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers and 31 RBIs.