The Yankees have placed 25-year old righty swinging catcher Francisco Cervelli on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to September 9th with a concussion. Cervelli has played in 43 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 33 for 124 (.266 avg, .719 OPS) with a 17 runs scored, 4 homers, 22 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Yankees have called up 22-year old righty swinging catcher Austin Romine to back up Russell Martin until Cervelli is ready to return to action. Romine came into this year as the Yankees’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. Romine has already played in 2 games for the Yankees this year and he is 1 for 4 (.250 avg, .500 OPS) with 1 run scored. Romine also played in 89 games in AA+AAA-ball this year and he was 98 for 351 (.279 avg, .710 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He should be able to do a decent job for the Yankees.

The Yankees have placed 34-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to August 8th due to a laceration of his right index finger. Garcia has pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Yankees hope that Garcia is ready to return to action sometime next week as he has been a godsend at the back end of the rotation.

The Yankees have placed 30-year old righty reliever Sergio Mitre on the 15-day disabled list due to right shoulder tendinitis. Mitre has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 11.81 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP. He has given up 9 hits and he has walked 4 batters in his first 5 1/3 innings for the Yankees so far this year as he hasn’t missed many bats since coming over from the Brewers. Mitre has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) overall this year for Milwaukee and New York and he is 0-1 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

The Yankees have placed 26-year old switch-hitting infielder Ramiro Pena on the 15-day disabled list due to an appendicitis. Pena has played in 14 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2 for 25 (.080 avg, .343 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. The Yankees have called up 23-year old righty swinging 1B/3B/OF Brandon Laird from AAA to replace Pena as the utility man. Laird came into this season as the Yankees’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America. Laird has played in 90 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 91 for 342 (.266 avg, .711 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 10 homers and 49 RBIs. He has now played in 519 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 541 for 1,946 (.278 avg, .796 OPS) with 274 runs scored, 79 homers, 341 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This will be Laird’s first shot in the majors.

35-year old righty swinging 3B Alex Rodriguez will undergo surgery later today to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Rodriguez will miss the next 4-6 weeks. Rodriguez has played in 80 games for the Yankees so far this year and he was 90 for 305 (.295 avg, .852 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 13 homers, 52 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. A-Rod only looked like his old self this year when his cousin (steroid boy) was hanging around the team. This injury could be the start of a career fade for Alex Rodriguez. 24-year old righty swinging infielder Eduardo Nunez will replace Rodriguez at 3B until he’s ready to return to action. Nunez has played in 50 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 33 for 119 (.277 avg, .754 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. I think he will do a good job at the hot corner for the Yankees. 25-year old switch-hitting infielder Ramiro Pena will take over Nunez’ role as the top backup infielder until Rodriguez returns to action. Pena has played in 13 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2 for 22 (.091 avg, .394 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI.