Yanks Are "Definitely Serious" About Carlos Beltran

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported via Twitter earlier today that the Yankees are "definately serious" in free-agent outfielder Carlos Beltran.

Lobby chatter: Source says that the Yankees are definitely serious about chasing Carlos Beltran.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) November 12, 2013

This doesn't really comes as any surprise, as the Yankees have been linked to Beltran for a few weeks now, and there was even reports a few weeks back that the two sides had mutual interest in each other.

Beltran hit .296/.339/.491 with 24 HR for the Cardinals this past year, and is said to be looking for a 3- or 4-year deal. Something of that length doesn't excite the Yankees very much, but it doesn't  mean they won't give it to him.

The competition for Beltran is expected to be very fierce, as the Yankees won't be the only team bidding for his services. The Red Sox, Rangers and Orioles are said to be in the running.

After Curtis Granderson rejected the Yankees' one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer yesterday, there is now room for the Bombers to add another outfielder. The Yankees have also been reported to be interesting in free-agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Like Granderson, both Beltran and Choo were given qualifying offers from their teams, which they both denied, meaning that the Yankees would have to give up their first round draft pick for next June's draft -- the Yankees will have the 18th pick next year.

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Granderson Turns Down Qualifying Offer From The Yankees

Curtis Granderson has officially turned down a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Yankees, as first reported by Joel Sherman of the NY Post via Twitter. Granderson had until 5pm ET Monday to accept or reject the offer, and he will now become a free-agent.

It’s been speculated that he would reject the offer even since it was extended to him last Monday. Granderson is going to test the market, rather than come back to the Yankees on the one-year deal to rebuild his value after an injury filled 2013 season in which he only played 61 games, hitting .229 with 7 homeruns with 15 RBIs.

Granderson has been drawing interest from a handful of teams so far this offseason, including the Red Sox, Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Phillies and Mets have all showed some interest in the slugger that led the majors in homeruns from 2011-2012.

As a power bat, the belief is that Granderson will be able to find a multi-year deal from a team that’s will to give him the years. He’s been said to likely get a deal kind of like the four-year, $54 million that Nick Swisher got from the Indians last offseason.

With Granderson likely out the  door for good, the Yankees will receive a draft pick from the team that signs him. The pick will come from the first round, unless the team that signs him is within the first 10 picks in next June’s draft.

The Yankees will also have the ability to sign another outfielder this winter. At the moment, they have three outfielders under contract for next season — Brett Gardner, Ichiro and Vernon Wells. Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran are two outfielders that have been tied to the Yankees, and both are believed to be near of the top of the interest list for this offseason. Both players were offered qualifying offers from their teams, and would cost the Yankees a draft pick to sign.

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Yanks And CC Dominated By Lester And The Red Sox

Believe it or not, there was once a time when New York Yankees fans couldn't wait for CC Sabathia's next start. Nowadays, they just can't wait for it to be over with.

Having a season with very little to cheer about, Sabathia entered Saturday's start against the Boston Red Sox with a 7.15 ERA against them this season.

After starting his day with a promising seven-pitch 1st inning, things went downhill from there as Boston tagged him for five runs in six innings, as the they went on to beat the Yankees, 5-1, Saturday at Fenway Park.

"It's very frustrating, because everybody keeps telling me I'm close, but I don't see it," Sabathia said. "I want results and I know the team wants results. I know the fans want results. It's just tough not being able to deliver."

Boston jumped on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second when Mike Napoli opened the inning with a groundball that third baseman Mark Reynolds sent flying into the Red Sox dugout, putting him on second base. After a walk to Johnny Gomes, a sac-bunt by Daniel Nava moved the runners over, setting up an RBI groundout by Will Middlebrooks.

Things only got worse from CC from there, as he gave up all five of his runs in the 2nd through 5th innings. A David Ortiz double scored a pair of runs in the 3rd, and a Gomes single a couple batters later put the Sox up 3-0.

The Yankees only run of the game came in the 4th inning against Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who was perfect through the first three innings until Curtis Granderson tripled to deep center to open the inning, then came around to score a couple batters later on a groundout by Robinson Cano.

Lester was great for the Red Sox, going eight innings against the Yankees for the second consecutive outing, and it was the third time in his last six starts that he has gone at least eight innings. Lester held the Bombers to just one run on three hits, while walking two and striking out five over 115 pitches.

"Our game plan going into today was going out there and, 'Here it comes,'" Lester said. "You're either going to get me or I'm going to get you. We were able to get some quick outs early on and get on a little bit of a roll from there. You look up and you're in the eighth."

Before finally tossing another scoreless inning in the 6th, CC gave up another pair of runs, one coming on a single by Shane Victorino in the 4th, and then a sac-fly by Nava in the 5th.

Sabathia handed the ball off to Joba Chamberlain to start the 7th. CC, as already mentioned, wasn't very good once against, giving up nine hits for the 7th time this season, while walking four and striking out five on 110 pitches, raising his season-ERA to 4.90 in the process.

"I felt like I was behind everybody and got in some tough counts," Sabathia said. "With a team like they have, when you get behind in some hitters' counts, you're going to give up some hard-hit balls."

"He's had some issues where the ball has cut on him, and that's usually what it is," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He just doesn't locate it. I think his stuff is plenty good enough to control lineups."

Chamberlain tossed 17 pitches while walking two in a scoreless 7th inning, and Matt Daley struck out two batters on 13 pitching in a scoreless 8th inning of his own.

Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Vernon Wells went down in order in the 9th against the Franklin Morales to hand the Yankees their second straight loss, and 5th in their last six games against the Red Sox.

"It's tough when you don't have your stuff against these guys, but you just try to go out and battle and do what I could," Sabathia said. "It wasn't good enough. It hasn't been good enough all year. I've got a few more starts left. Hopefully I can be a lot better."

Alfonso Soriano did not play in this game. He was a late scratch from the lineup because of a sprained right thumb. Click here for the full news story.

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Gardner Leaves Game With Oblique Strain

Move over, Derek Jeter, Jayson Nix, Kevin Youkilis, David Phelps, Michael Pineda, and every other Yankee on the disabled list this season, another player is likely to be joining to list.

Yankees OF Brett Gardner left Thursday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning because of a left oblique strain. Gardner struck out in his first at-bat of the game, and walked straight to the clubhouse from the batters box.

As of now, Gardner is considered day-to-day, but the problem with oblique strains is that they're tricky to deal with. It's usually an injury that could last for a few weeks. If it doesn't heal quick, Gardner's season is likely to be over.

For the Yankees to lose Gardner would be a serious blow to their playoff chase, as Gardner has been a strong bat of the top of the Yankees lineup. With a .344 on-base percentage, he hit .273 with 8 homeruns on 52 RBIs this season for the Bombers.

This has easily been Gardner's best season since debuting in the majors, as he had set new career-highs in hits, doubles, triples, homeruns and RBIs.

He was replaced in center field by Curtis Granderson, who is now expected to take over the role as the Yankees everyday center field, while also sharing time with Ichiro.

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Another Late Comeback Leads The Yanks Past The O's

Remembering the tragic events at the World Trade Center exactly 12 years ago today, the New York Yankees were in Baltimore for the third of a four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles.

On the day the Yankees decided to shut down Derek Jeter for the rest of the season, the team needed a good win to take their minds off of the Jeter news.

Andy Pettitte was pretty good once again, and Alex Rodriguez went deep for the 6th time this season, as the Yankees beat the Orioles 5-4 Wednesday night at Camden Yards, thanks to a go-ahead homerun in the 9th inning by Robinson Cano.

"We don't want to take anything for granted," said Cano. "We just want to go game by game and give it all we've got."

Just like they did in the first two games of this season, the Yankees jumped out to an early 1-0 in the first inning after Brett Gardner walked to open the game, and after stealing second base, he moved to third on a slow ground out by A-Rod, then came home to score on a groundout by Cano.

Then, of course, as the Orioles have done in every game of this series, they jumped back into the game to take the lead in the bottom of the 4th inning on a two-run down near the line in right field, scoring Brian Robertson and Manny Machado to give the O's a 2-1 lead.

JJ Hardy added on another run in the 5th inning when he sent a double to deep right center field to score Danny Valencia, who doubled to lead off the inning against the Yankees' starter Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte pitched pretty well for the Yankees, giving them 6.1 innings, permitting three runs on nine hits, while walking just one and striking out three on 109 pitches. There were points in the game where Pettitte could have made some better pitches, but overall, I thought he was pretty good.

"Obviously we've seen them a lot," Pettitte said. "They know what I'm trying to do to them. You've got to be sharp. I was thankful I was able to give us a decent outing tonight."x

Curtis Granderson made it a one-run game in the 5th inning when he absolutely clobbered a solo homerun to right field, sending it 428 ft, well beyond the right field wall. It was his first homerun since August 21st, spanning 61 at-bats.

"Grandy is one of those guys that's a game-changer with his bat," Girardi said. "He can do that."

Granderson's homerun with the Yankees' first hit of the game against O's starter Scott Feldman, who was just as good as Pettitte, if not better, giving up just three runs on three hits,including two homeruns, while walking two and striking out six over 7.2 inning.

The second homerun he gave up was another solo shot to right field, this time by A-Rod to tie the game. A-Rod now needs just six more homeruns in order to get to 660 and tie the great Willie Mays on the all-time list, also giving him a $6 million bonus.

"He's driving the ball both ways; he's driving it to right and he's driving it to left," Girardi said. "That's encouraging, because when Alex is going good, that's who he is."

David Robertson pitched for the first time in over a week, tossing scoreless 8th inning, and the go-ahead homerun by Cano to open the inning off Tommy Hunter and an infield single by Lyle Overbay gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead to setup a save situation for Mariano Rivera.

Only needing to get through one inning tonight, Mariano retired Hardy and Nick Markakis, before giving up a two-out double to Nate McLouth and an RBI single to Brian Roberts to pull the O's within a run. But Rivera stopped the rally by striking out Machado to end the game, capturing his 43rd save of the season.

"It's just battle; figure out a way," Pettitte said. "We've been doing it all year. We're going to continue to do it. We're going to continue to push through this and no matter how you lose a game here or there, it's not over until we're eliminated, as far as I'm concerned."

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Yanks Sweep The Jays For Their 5th Straight Win

Right now, the New York Yankees might be playing some of their best baseball of the season. Having won four straight coming in, the Yanks sent Andy Pettitte to the mound in hopes that he could help lead them to a four-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Pettitte, backed by some timely offensive hits, gave he the Bombers six innings of one-runs ball in one of his best starts in a while, leading the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays.

Thursday's game in the Bronx was originally scheduled to start at 1pm EST, but a three hour rain delay kept the players off the field until first pitch at 4:37pm EST.

When play finally began, Pettitte and Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ were locked into a good pitchers duel early, with Happ not permitting a Yankees baserunner until Ichiro's double off the third base bag in the 4th inning.

J.P. Arencibia broke the scoreless tie in the top of the 5th inning with a solo homerun to left field off of Pettitte. But that homerun wouldn't do much harm to the Yankees, who would end up scoring the next five runs in the game.

Curtis Granderson tied up the game in the bottom half of the 5th inning when he inflicted his revenge on Happ, the man who broke his forearm in Spring Training, launching his 4th homerun deep into the right field seats.

The Yankees would take the lead later in the inning on an extremely crazy play with the bases loaded. Vernon Wells lined a ball into center field that Rajai Davis appeared to catch on a sliding play, but the umpires ruled no catch, Eduardo Nunez scored from third, and Wells was given a fielders choice.

The Yanks added two more runs off of Happ and the Jays' bullpen in the 6th inning on an RBI single by Nunez, and then Chris Stewart drove in the second run on a groundout to third base, scoring Mark Reynolds.

Shawn "Strikeout" Kelley entered the game to start the 7th inning, replacing Pettitte, who tossed six innings of one-run ball, giving up four hits, while walking three and striking out three on 100 pitches.

Kelley, who's usually very reliable out of the bullpen, didn't have his best stuff this time out, letting the first four Jays hitters he faced reached base on three singles and a walk.

Munenori Kawasaki singled to left field with runners on first and second, scoring a run to make it a 5-2 game. A couple batters later, Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a fielders choice to cut the Yankees lead to 5-3.

Boone Logan came on and struck out Adam Lind with a pair of runners on to end the 7th. Preston Claiborne worked a scoreless 8th inning, and David Robertson tossed a scoreless 1-2-3 inning, with Mariano Rivera shut down for the day, to end the game and give the Yanks their 5th straight victory.

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Kuroda Dominates Again, Yankees Win 2-1

Let's get this straight, Hiroki Kuroda is a top three candidate for the American League Cy Young award. The Yankees most dominating and consistent pitcher in 2013 was at it again Monday night, tossing eight shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels in the Yankees 1-0 win.

Kuroda was just as dominant as any other outing for him this season. The only three hits he gave up on the night were a double to Josh Hamilton to open the 2nd, an infield single by the speedy Mike Trout, and a double by Chris Iannetta with two outs in the 8th.

He worked very economical all night, need just 16 pitches to get through the 6th and 7th innings combine, with a total of 107 pitches for the game.

"His offspeed stuff is very difficult to pick up," Angels catcher Chris Iannetta said. "The rotation on it, you couldn't really pick it up. You had to wait a long time, which made you late on the fastball. If you're trying to hit the fastball, you're ahead on the offspeed. He kept guys off balance -- very deceptive, very good location."

Although Kuroda has pitched well all season, his low win total has been the product of very poor run support from the Yankees offense. That wasn't much of an issue Monday night, as Kuroda kept Anaheim off the board, the Yanks were able to put a pair of runs on the board to back Kuroda.

The Yanks first run came in the third inning after Eduardo Nunez single to center field with one out, then a well timed hit and run put on by Yankees manager Joe Girardi move Nunez over to second on a groundball out by Chris Stewart.

A couple pitches later, Brett Gardner, Sunday's hero with his walk-off homerun in the 9th inning, lined a single into left-center field that brought home Nunez, giving the Yanks a 1-0 lead.

Angels starter Garrett Richards battled with Kuroda all night, virtually matching his line, apart from a couple mistake here and there. His biggest mistake of the game was a fastball to Curtis Granderson in the 7th inning that he left right over the plate, that Granderson would put into the second deck in right field, extending the Yankees lead to 2-0.

"[Granderson] knows when he's starting to get right," Girardi said. "It's a feeling you feel when you're seeing the ball better. [Richards] has good stuff."

Like Kuroda, Richards pitched into the 8th inning, giving the Angels an equally impressive performance, permitting just the two runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out three in eight very solid innings, with just the couple of mistakes to his credit.

With Mariano Rivera not available to pitch, Boone Logan was the man to come into the game for Kuroda, who finished with a line of no runs on three hits, while walking one and striking out seven in eight innings.

"I told Larry I will pitch no matter what, but I would take the day off if it's OK," Rivera said.

J.B. Shuck opened the inning with a single to right field off the first base bag, then Logan came back to strike out Kole Calhoun. Girardi then pulled the plug on Logan, bringing in David Robertson to get the final two outs.

Robertson walked Trout to put runners on 1st and 2nd, then Hamilton blooped a shallow fly ball over A-Rod at third that brought home Shuck, moved Trout to third and put Hamilton on second. Robertson intentionally walked Erick Aybar with first base open to load the bases.

Robertson struck out Mark Trumbo for a big second out, then he Chris Nelson to a full-count and struck him out on what would have been ball four to end the ball, and give the Yankees consecutive wins for the first time since July 11th-12th.

"It was a little different, but we've got a pretty good bullpen down there," Stewart said. "We've got guys that can do the job. They made it a little interesting toward the end. They didn't get hit hard, but balls fell in. They kept their cool and finished the game out."

Monday's start was just another in the impressive run by Kuroda, as he's now 4-1 since the start of July, with a stellar ERA of 0.94. It was also the 5th scoreless outing in his last nine starts, and the 9th scoreless start this season, a major league best for Kuroda.

"We saw last year, coming into the [American League] East is not an easy task," catcher Chris Stewart said. "For him to come in and do what he did last year is really special. He's topping that -- even better this year. It just goes to show you, he's a veteran guy, he doesn't get fazed out there. With runners on base or in scoring position, he goes into shutdown mode and eliminates runs. He gets extremely focused."

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Grandy Goes Deep, Nova Dominates In Win Over The Padres

SAN DIEGO -- If there's anyone who can, the Grandy Man can!

Playing in just his 10th game of the season, second since coming off the DL for the second time, Curtis Granderson helped back up another strong outing from Ivan Nova, blasting his 2nd homerun of the season in the Yankees' 3-0 win over the Padres.

"It's still interesting," Granderson said. "I've still got to get reps, I've still got to get at-bats. One at-bat felt better than the other. One at-bat felt not as good as the other. But I'll continue to swing."

After posting a sub-three ERA in the month of July, Nova keep the hot streak going against the Padres.

Nova gave up a few hits in the first, but was able to get out of the inning unharmed, then went to give up just one hit over the next six innings, keeping the Padres off the board in the process, working efficiently throughout the night, throwing three different single-digit pitch innings.

Nova ended with day with a big strikeout of Nick Hundley looking at a called third strike to end the 7th with runners on 1st and 2nd, pumping up Nova. He permitted just four hits, while walking just one and striking out eight San Diego hitters on 85 pitches.

"I've been feeling really good," Nova said. "Like I've said in the past, I don't remember the last time I felt the way I feel now. I'm working hard to try to repeat it every time. I'm trying to go out there and do my job, try to help the team to win games."

He looked good right from the start. He was making to pitches he need to make, and his curveball was a good as I've seen in awhile.

"He's been really good since he's come back," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "The big thing is that he stays consistent with his fastball. When he does, it just makes everything else that much more effective."

Nova's biggest issue during his 1-2 run in July was that both losses were because the Yankees had been shutout. Through the first six inning, that looked like reality once again, up until Granderson smacked a fastball over the heart of the plate into the right field seats to give the Bombers a 2-0 lead.

"It was good. Any way to help the team out," Granderson said. "It was a scuffle against Ross out there. He had thrown really well against us. Finally, the third time around we were able to get just a little thing going with Soriano getting the bloop [single] there, and then finally to get a pitch that caught some of the plate."

Granderson's homerun came against San Diego's right-hander Tyson Ross, who, through the first six innings, looked as if the Yankees might never score on him.

"It's always great for a hitter to do that, to get a little work in and then you see the dividends," Girardi said. "He was a part of all three runs tonight. I've talked about how Curtis can change the complexion of a game, really quickly, and that's what he did tonight."

Ross set a new career-high with nine strikeouts against the Yankees, his sliders was his biggest weapon. The Yankees just couldn't pick up his slider, striking out five straight at one point in the game. He's didn't let a Yankee reach base until Lyle Overbay single to left to open the 5th.

David Robertson did his usual thing in the bottom of the 8th inning, Jayson Nix singled home Granderson in the top of the 9th to extend the lead to 3-0, then, of course, Mariano Rivera would come in, making his first appearance at Petco Park, setting down the Padres 1-2-3 in the 9th, sealing the Yanks 3-0 victory.

The series finale will commence Sunday at 4:10 pm EST from, what I can only assume will be a sunny San Diego. Your pitching matchup with feature former Yankee farm-hand Ian Kennedy, facing off against a likely soon to be Yankee Phil Hughes.

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Nova And Darvish Square Off In Series Opener

ARLINGTON -- Coming off a loss to the Red Sox that went into the early Monday morning hours, the get a middle of the night flight to Texas to face to slumping Rangers. After being swept by Baltimore over the weekend, Texas is now on a season-high five game losing streak and have lost seven of the past eight games.

The Yankees haven't been playing very on their part lately, either. They've lost seven of their last 11 games and lost two of three games to the Red Sox over the weekend, falling back to seven games behind Boston in the AL East.

Now the the Tampa Bay Rays, the hottest team in baseball, playing the Red Sox, the Yankees will need to take advantage of every opportunity to gain ground on the Sox without falling farther out of contention.

Tonight's Lineup, 7:05 EST @ Arlington Ballpark:


Gardner CF
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Overbay 1B
Wells LF
Hafner DH
Nunez SS
Stewart C
Cruz 3B
Nova P

Pitching Preview:

Of all the Yankee starters, Ivan Nova has probably been the most solid starters over his last few outings, allowing just three run on eight hits over two July outings prior to the break, winning both games while pitching at least eight innings in each.

Though while Nova has been pitching very well lately, he's never really had success in his career against the Rangers. He has a 5.09 ERA in four starts against them, and he gave up four runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against Texas on August 16th, 2012.

Texas will send their second-year ace, Yu Darvish, to the mound to face the struggling Yankees' bats in the series opener. Darvish hasn't started since giving up a season-high five runs to the Astros, and he's been on the DL with a strain in his right trapezius muscle since.

"I think [the break] was good for me," Darvish said. "I was able to rest and do everything I had to do."

Darvish is 8-3 with a 3.02 ERA and 157 strikeouts, but has struggled over his last nine starts, going 1-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He's face New York once already this season, taking the no-decision after giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings back on June 25th.

Yankee Notes:

* Robinson Cano comes into play riding a 12-game hit streak and is a career .342 hitter in Texas and is 3-for-6 in his career against Yu Darvish.

* Prior to Sunday night's game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Derek Jeter had not began running and wasn't entirely sure that Jeter will be ready to play once he becomes eligible to come off the DL on Saturday.

"I guess anything is possible," Girardi said. "I'm just not sure. I think the biggest hurdle he would have to clear is running. I wouldn't rule it out, but I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent sure he'll be back [on Saturday]."

* Curtis Granderson has started taking batting practice and should participate in simulated games shortly, according to Girardi.

* Girardi also said that David Phelps threw a bullpen session on Saturday as he aims to rejoin the Yankees' starting rotation soon. Phelps is currently on the 15-Day DL with a strain in his right forearm.

"He said he felt better than his last bullpen," Girardi said of Phelps. "I don't think he means so much physically, but he probably threw the ball a lot better. When you don't throw for two weeks, you're going to be a little off."

One of the biggest unknowns with Phelps with that Girardi doesn't know what his role will be once he returns. Phelps is 6-5 with a 5.01 ERA in 18 games (12 starts) this year.

"He left as a starter, and we envision him as a starter," Girardi said. "I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen, though, when he comes back. We've got to see how he feels and how he does."

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Cashman Talks Jeter, A-Rod And More

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was on ESPN New York 98.7, joining The Michael Kay Show to discuss some of the many storylines happening around his club. He talked about everything from Jeter to A-Rod, to Granderson and trade talks. Here's just some of what he had to say:

* Cashman talked about Derek Jeter and the decision to place him on the DL.

Cashman on Jeter: "We did an MRI last night and it showed some healing." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman on Jeter: "He's been able to walk around without pain ... he's done nothing but get treatment" #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman also said that Jeter had wanted to take the week off and see how things felt, but clearly it just didn't get good enough to play. He has no regrets over bringing back Jeter last Thursday, saying that he was going to play shortstop for the Yankees on Friday and was going to DH in Scranton on Thursday, so having him DH in the Bronx made no difference.

* Cashman was asked about A-Rod, how he was doing and what we could expect to see from him.

Cashman on A-Rod: " In the first week (of rehab), he was going through the motions, but now he's fully submerged." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman on A-Rod: "(his return) has already been decided if he's healthy ... right now it's Monday ... it's full steam ahead." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman on A-Rod: "We really look forward to him coming back on Monday." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman on A-Rod: "We need to improve in every way and Alex Rodriguez will help us." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman was also asked what type of player we should expect A-Rod to be, he said that it would be really hard to tell. He said that some days we might see something close to the old Alex Rodriguez and others we might see someone who's lost his touch.

But overall, he stated that he couldn't wait for A-Rod to come back and hopefully provide some production at third base, a position that the Yankees haven't had much coming from this season.

 * Cashman was asked about Curtis Granderson and he gave us an update on his recovery.

Cashman on Granderson: "Hopefully in the next two week, we'll get him out into a rehab assignment." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Granderson has started to take batting practice and Cashman said that the hope is within the next 10 day or so, they'll be able to get him into some game action. There is nothing to update on Francisco Cervelli at this time, according to Cashman.

* Next up, Cashman gave us some information on Michael Pineda and what his future might hold with the Yankees.

Cashman on Pineda: "He look really good (in his last outing)... he's healthy he looks good." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

He added that as of right now, Pineda has been on a pitch count, but he's still looking very good in his outing, according to the scouts he's had at the games. He said that it's possible Pineda could join the Yankees bullpen at some point in time and maybe even a starting role if a position opens up.

But right now, he helps out the Yankees in giving them some pitching depth in the minors. Cashman really likes the way the Ivan Nova has been throwing and with Phelps on the DL, he doesn't know when Pineda will get a chance to pitch in the Bronx.

* Cashman talked about Mariano Rivera and his All-Star Game moment for the ages.

Cashman on Mo's All-Star entrance: "It was very touching to see ... it was a good tribute to him as a person." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman on Mariano: "I've asked him (to come back), but he's not changing his mind." #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) July 19, 2013

Cashman was asked whether he would try asking Mariano come back for another season after 2013 is over and he said that they have discussed it, but as of right now, Mariano has no intention to not retire. He said that if he decided the play another season, the Yankees would be the first to know.

Well, that's all for now. Jeter is expected to speak to the media at some point before the game, so follow me on Twitter to keep an eye out for that. Until then, you can also read tonight's game preview with lineups and much more.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

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Monday's notes: Mostly injury news.

Brain Cashman spoke to the media on Monday and he gave out information on many of the Yankees injured stars. Here's what he had to say:

--On Mark Teixeira, Cashman said, "I'm leaning personally towards the disabled list there." Teixeira underwent an MRI in New York on Sunday that came back showing only inflammation in his right wrist, luckily no new tears. He received a cortisone shot and will be out for the next few days. "Not a player for seven days at a minimum" Cashman added.

--Michael Pineda will make his next start for the Tampa Yankees this Thursday in the Florida State League; and he'll be limited to around 80 pitches. Cashman said that Pineda has been sitting at 92 mph in his rehab outings, topping out at 94-95.

--Curtis Granderson is expected to have the pin removed from his hand on Thursday. Granderson continues to work his way back and we currently don't know the exact time we'll see him again on the field. More info on when he begins baseball activities will likely come on Thursday.

--Alex Rodriguez will face live pitching Tuesday in Tampa. I believe that this will be the first time that A-Rod will be facing live pitching during his rehab.

Also, there's nothing new to report on Kevin Youkilis. #Yankees
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) June 17, 2013

For more Yankees news you can follow me on Twitter, or just click follow on the tweet above.

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