The Yankees will try again to take down the red hot Oakland Athletics after last night's deflating loss.
Gardner 7, Jeter 6, Ellsburu 8, teixeira 3, McCann DH, solarte 5, Roberts 4, Suzuki 9, Murphy 2, nuno p #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) June 4, 2014The Yankees lineup will have Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the order. Mark Teixeira is still in there batting cleanup and Brian McCann is the designated hitter. Yangervis Solarte, Brian Roberts, and Ichiro Suzuki follow, with John Ryan Murphy behind the plate and batting ninth.
Over in injury update land, Shawn Kelley was seen throwing batting practice to a few Yankees. He reportedly threw a simulated game and will play a rehab game on Saturday. CC Sabathia, who had just recently started running on his knee, played catch and felt fine. He will throw again tomorrow as well. Carlos Beltran is on his way to New York and could be back with the team tomorrow.
The Yankees have also designated Alfredo Aceves for assignment and optioned Preston Claiborne to Triple-A. To take their places, Wade LeBlanc and Jose Ramirez are in the clubhouse. LeBlanc, a lefty, will be used as the long reliever, while Ramirez could be used as a multi-inning reliever. He was previously up with the team before, but never got in the game. Once he does, it will be his major league debut. If you're keeping track at home, the Yankees now have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so let the anticipation mount!
MLB Draft Insider included the Yankees in their most recent mock draft and had them choosing catcher/outfielder Chase Vallot as the 55th overall pick. Vallot was also picked to go to the Yankees by the Minor League Ball community mock draft, so maybe there's something there.