The Yankees have placed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Meyers on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to a strained right labrum. Meyers pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball last year for the Nationals and he was 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has now pitched in 87 games (84 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 31-18 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Meyers was a Rule 5 Draft Pick over the winter from the Nationals, so his injury actually buys the Yankees more time to look at him when he gets healthy.

The Yankees have placed 23-year old righty starting pitcher Michael Pineda on the 15-day disabled list due to right shoulder tendinitis. Pineda pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Pineda only gave up 133 hits in 171 innings for the Mariners last year, while whiffing an impressive 173 batters. Pineda also only walked 55 batters last year as he pounds the strike zone with his nasty stuff. Pineda’s injury means that both Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia have locked up spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation when the 2012 season begins. The Yankees need to handle Pineda with kid gloves as he is a big part of their future.

UPDATE: (4/26/2012) - The Yankees will be without Michael Pineda for the entire 2012 season as he will have surgery next Tuesday to repair a torn right labrum.

26-year old righty reliever Joba Chamberlain will miss the entire 2012 season after undergoing surgery to repair and open dislocation to his right ankle. Chamberlain was injured while playing with his son. He was expected to be out until the All-Star Break as he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery that he had last summer. Chamberlain pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has now pitched in 193 games (43 stars) in his first five years with the Yankees and he is 20-13 with 4 saves, a 3.70 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This is a bad break for Chamberlain.

UPDATE: (4/4/2012) - The Yankees have placed Joba Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list.

The Yankees have lost 23-year old righty reliever Daniel Burawa indefinitely due to a tear in his rib cage. Burawa pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in A-ball for the Yankees last year and he was 5-4 with 5 saves, a 3.64 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 5-4 with 5 saves, a 3.96 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Yankees won’t rush Burawa back as he’s likely to start the 2012 season in AA-ball.

The Yankees have signed 30-year old righty reliever David Aardsma to a 1-year, $500,000 dollar deal with a club option for 2013. Aardsma didn’t pitch at all last season due to Tommy John Surgery which will likely also knock him out for the first half of 2012. He last pitched in the majors in 2010 with the Mariners. Aardsma has now pitched in 254 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 13-15 with 69 saves, a 4.20 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. This was an outstanding move for the Yankees as Aardsma is a good reliever when he is healthy.

UPDATE: (2/27/2012) - The Yankees have placed David Aardsma on the 60-day disabled list to open up a roster spot for infielder Eric Chavez.