Andy Pettitte To The DL, Vidal Nuno Called Back Up

This doesn't come as good news after Joe talked him leaving the game early last night down like it was no big deal.  The Yankees have elected to put Andy Pettitte on the disabled list with his upper left trap injury, and have recalled Vidal Nuno from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster and presumably in the rotation as well.

It's a small bit surprising that Joe would be so open about how not big a deal the injury was in last night's presser and then have this be the move the next day.  The Yankees just got done botching the Kevin Youkilis situation, so they shouldn't really be saying boo about anybody's health if the actions aren't in agreement.  There's a chance this is the Yankees using this latest injury blip as justification for putting Andy on the DL and giving him a significant chunk of time to fully rest his back, which they didn't do last time.  That being said, it still doesn't do much to ease the concern about this being a lingering issue for Andy for the rest of the season.

Lyle Overbay Is Doing A Pretty Good Mark Teixeira Impression

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

As was the case with most of the non-Hafner players the Yankees added late in spring camp, the feelings about Lyle Overbay were filled more with trepidation and worry than confidence and hope.  Overbay had been cut by Boston following a light-hitting Spring Training of his own, and he hadn't really hit with any kind of authority since 2009.  He was brought in almost solely because of his defensive skills, skills which he has showed off in his first month in pinstripes.  All defensive metrics rate him positively so far this season, and his .995 fielding percentage at first base has been right on par with what Mark Teixeira would have provided had he been healthy.

What Overbay was not expected to do was replicate Teix's offensive production, and it's what he's managed to do with the bat thus far that's made him another surprisingly smart and positive pick up by the Yanks.  That has a lot to do with the fact that Teix sucks in April, but if we're being honest here I think we can agree that, for at least the month of April, the Yankees really haven't lost much going from Teix to Overbay.

Why Not Travis Hafner For DH?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Yankees are still in the market for a designated hitter for this season, and it's one of the few positions where they can actually afford to look for a lefty since they have A-Rod and Kevin Youkilis to handle the right-handed DH duties.  Mark Hale reported earlier this week that the Yankees have "no interest" in 42-year-old Jim Thome, which doesn't come as a huge surprise, but there is another name out there that I think could be a better fit than people realize.  That name is Travis Hafner, former Cleveland Indian who had his team option declined and hasn't generated a whole lot of buzz this offseason because of his annual injury problems.  This is going to sound crazy, but I think those injury problems are EXACTLY why the Yankees should be interested in Hafner.

Nix Gives Yanks Bare Minimum Insurance

The Yankees took a risk re-signing Jayson Nix the way they did and then DFA'ing him to clear a roster spot for Mo.  That risk became even bigger when Alex Rodriguez's injury was announced on Monday, and bigger still when the Yankees failed to lock down a replacement this week at the Winter Meetings.  But the risk paid off yesterday when Nix cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A.  At least now the Yankees have one viable, albeit nowhere near ideal, in-house option to play the hot corner if need be.

Nix was the definition of replacement level in 2012, but he did prove useful to the Yankees with his ability to play multiple positions.  They were lucky to have him on the roster when A-Rod went out with the broken hand, and Nix did get the majority of his work in at third this past season.  He's certainly not enough as an everyday option to make Cash call off the search for a full-time replacement, but Nix can handle a bat, has just enough pop to be taken seriously, and can handle his business in the field.

I don't expect that Nix will be the Opening Day third baseman, and the Yanks could certainly do a lot better than him.  But they could also do worse, and were doing worse with what they had readily available before he cleared waivers yesterday.  Nix is at least something, and something is better than nothing.

Third Basemen! Getcha Third Basemen Here!

I think the Yankees pretty much covered the board on connections to available third basemen yesterday.  I read one unconfirmed report that they were in talks with Charlie Hayes' people about a comeback.  Now the questions becomes, which guy gets the golden ticket?

Kevin Youkilis- .283/.384/.482, .377 wOBA, 128 wRC+, RHH, 33 years old

Jeff Keppinger- .288/.337/.396, .323 wOBA, 97 wRC+, RHH, 32 years old

Mark Reynolds- .235/.332/.475, .349 wOBA, 109 wRC+, RHH, 29 years old

Eric Chavez- .267/..343/.476, .349 wOBA, 112 wRC+, LHH, 34 years old

What's your poison, people?  There's good and bad that comes with all of them.

** UPDATE 1:04PM- Sorry to all you Jeff Keppinger fans out there.  Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman are reporting that he has signed with the White Sox for 3 years and $12 million. **

** UPDATE 2:05PM- And now Chavez comes off the board, signing a 1-year/$3 million deal with the D-backs according to Jack Magruder. **