Help is Coming for the Wobbly Yankees – Morning Call

The Yankees placed Albert Abreu on the injured list Sunday morning and called up Luke Bard to take his place in the Yankees’ bullpen. Abreu was placed on IL with right elbow inflammation.

Bard, the younger brother of Daniel Bard, last appeared in the majors on July 29 with the Rays. In eight appearances for Tampa Bay, including against the Yankees, Bard posted a 1.93 ERA. He struck out eight in 14 innings.

He was waived by the Yankees on August 5. Bard posted a 5.02 ERA this season.

Abreu allowed nine earned runs in 25 innings pitched in his time with the Yankees. They claimed him off waivers after the Royals cut him. Abreu was traded to the Rangers during spring training to acquire Jose Trevino. The Rangers also cut him this season.

Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Saturday night for the Somerset Patriots, and the Yankees couldn’t be happier. The batter made it through his first minor league rehab game with no problems.

“He went well. Good today,” Boone said. “He’s going to get more shots today. I actually just texted him 15-20 minutes ago. So it’s been going according to plan.”

Stanton is scheduled to get one more day at Double-A before returning to New York, where he is scheduled to face Luis Severino in a live workout on Tuesday.

The Bombers will then make a decision with Stanton to travel with them to the West Coast for a 10-game road trip.

“He kind of defined it. I mean, the plan right now is three to five more today, depending,” Boone said. “Then if things go well there, he’ll come practice with us tomorrow and then face (Severin) , will get some hits … so he’ll get some hits and hopefully we’ll meet up there in a good place. But we’ll kind of determine that as the day goes on, when we feel like it’s enough and he feels like it’s enough, and then we’ll go from there.”

In 80 games this season, Stanton is hitting .228/.309/.498 with an .807 OPS, 24 home runs and 61 RBI. Stanton will not play on the field during his rehab assignment and will be reinstated when he returns.

Clay Holmes, who is dealing with lower back tightness, is still dealing with a slight back problem that landed him on the injured list, but said his first throw Saturday went well. He planned to throw a few pitches from the mound to test it out on Sunday. The Yankees are encouraged that he will be able to return from the injured list once he is eligible.

“So, I mean, we’ll see. “Obviously, things have to continue,” Boone said. “He’s going to pitch today, and if things go well and how he feels this morning, I think we’ll be in a good spot. He’s going to get on the mound today actually, probably just 10 pitches or so. So I feel like we’re moving in a good direction.”

In his first 38 games this season, Holmes was unreachable. He posted a 0.46 ERA with six walks in 39.1 innings. Over his last 11 appearances, he has allowed 11 earned runs and walked 10 in 9.2 innings.

Josh Donaldson, who was scratched from the lineup Saturday because of a stomach bug, was out of the lineup again Sunday.

“He is good. I haven’t seen him, but I’ve just been told he’s on the prowl. “Much better this morning and the training room felt a little better when he left last night,” Boone said. “I spoke to him last night and he was feeling a little better. But I think he’s doing much better today and that should be an option for us.”

Zach Britton faced the forwards again on Saturday and the reports were good, but Boone tried to lower expectations for his possible return.

“That’s what I was trying to guard against,” Boone said. “As much as I think there’s a chance, and we’d certainly love to get Zach Britton back in the mix with us, first of all I want to make sure he’s in a really good place physically. This is an important time for him. It’s been a very good, I think, successful journey since the surgery in his rehabilitation center. So I certainly hope so, but I don’t want to put any expectations on it. I just want him to come back and really feel like he’s ready to make an impact for us. But the most important thing is to get him back because he’s done really well since that operation.”

In October of last year, Briton underwent elbow reconstruction surgery.

Scott Efros, who appeared as a last-inning shortstop for the Yankees, was not available Sunday. The side-armed right-hander has been dealing with a shoulder problem.

“He had some shoulder stiffness after yesterday’s game, so he wasn’t available for us today,” Boone said.

Efros threw 16 pitches in Saturday’s loss to the Blue Jays after not pitching in two days. Boone said he wasn’t sure if Efros would see team doctors for imaging or testing.

In eight games since the Yankees acquired him from the Cubs at the trade deadline, Efros has allowed four runs, three earned, with a 3.24 ERA.