Yankees News: CC lands on DL again and Derek Lowe agrees to contract

The New York Yankees revealed some surprising news yesterday just after they beat the Toronto Blue Jays for their fourth consecutive victory. CC Sabathia was headed to the disabled list retroactive to Thursday with a sore elbow.

This is Sabathia’s second trip to the DL this season after not been on it since 2006. He felt stiffness after his August 3rd start against the Seattle Mariners, but a MRI revealed nothing. It went away and resurfaced again after his start in Detroit. It now makes sense that the big lefty was pulled after only 94 pitches in that start. Another MRI still showed no signs of damage and manager Joe Girardi said Sabathia tried to talk his way out of the DL-stint.

But, the Yankees felt that the time off instead of missing just one start was a better option, since he would be required to still throw in between. This will allow more time for the soreness to dissipate. There is a possibility that Sabathia gets a cortisone shot for the pain.

"“I was a little bit concerned, but he didn’t express anything. He didn’t have any symptoms before the game [today],” Girardi said. “We were trying to prevent [a trip to the DL]. The treatment that he has had over this time has responded OK, but the fact that it came back concerned us.” – Yankees Manager Joe Girardi"

Speculation is that David Phelps or a member of the Triple-A squad will handle the rotation spot. Sabathia is set to speak with the media today and more information will likely surface with the Yankees’ plans until Sabathia can return.

Girardi didn’t have much to offer about who would start Monday according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com, “We’ll have to decide. Our job is to win tomorrow and then we’ll see where we’re at.”

It is not surprising that the Yankees are being cautious, as Girardi said if this was a playoff game they would consider allowing him to start, but either way this has to be concerning for the team. Without Sabathia the rotation is missing a top-notch starter and Sabathia’s importance in the postseason cannot be understated.

If Phelps gets the start on Monday it will certainly be with a pitch count and there is no telling how far he could go. I wrote at length about the yo-yo effect on Phelps last week. We’ll see if he is indeed the Yankees choice to fill the rotation spot or not.

In other news, the Yankees have come to an agreement with Derek Lowe, who was recently released by the Cleveland Indians. Lowe will be pitching out of the bullpen according to MLB.com reporter Chris Toman. Lowe was 8-10 with a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for the Tribe.