Yankees News: Gardner setback, Robertson in Triple-A, Chamberlain and Aardsma

The New York Yankees medical report is hitting .750 this past week as they received positive results from three of four key players who are on the disabled list. Unfortunately, the player who went backwards in his recuperation is arguably the most important of the bunch.

Brett Gardner suffered a setback on Saturday after he woke up with a sore elbow after appearing in his first rehab assignment game with Single-A Charleston. Gardner will meet with famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews early this week and he’s also set to meet with specialist Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati. Andrews’ name attached to a player is usually not a great sign.

Gardner has been on the disabled-list since April 17th and the most recent setback is the second of the process. There is no timetable, but manager Yankees Joe Girardi is not expecting Gardner back until after the All-Star break.

It remains to be seen what the Yankees will do if something is found which leads them to believe he could be out longer than that. Using the combination of Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones has been sufficient, but neither player was seen to be getting much playing time in the outfield when signed. The Yankees in house options of Dewayne Wise and Chris Dickerson are also not long-term solutions.

ROBERTSON PITCHES IN TRIPLE-A GAME

David Robertson pitched in his first rehab start with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate yesterday. Robertson notched three straight outs with one strikeout in the seventh inning of a 5-4 loss for the SWB Yankees. We’ll have to see how Robertson feels today before we get a clearer picture as to his return.

Robertson is reportedly to be going back to his eighth inning role, though yesterday’s blown save by Rafael Soriano will raise questions. Joe Girardi tried to quell such talk when he stated in his press conference after yesterday’s win, “we’ll throw him (Soriano) back out there.”

CHAMBERLAIN THROWS 25 PITCHES FROM MOUND

Joba Chamberlain is just about fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, unfortunately he is also recuperating from an open dislocation of his ankle suffered during Spring Training while playing on a trampoline with his son.

Chamberlain tossed 25 pitches at the Yankees’ facilities in Tampa on Friday and came away feeling good across the board. Joba insists he will definitely be on the mound this season, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is hesitant to go that far, though he admits that Chamberlain is a fast healer.

AARDSMA THROWING BATTING PRACTICE

Yankees reliever David Aardsma has been throwing batting practice to minor-leaguers. While there is no specific timetable for his return, provided he has no issues going forward, he could begin a rehab assignment soon.