NEW YORK (AP) -Alex Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right quadriceps, leaving another major hole in the New York Yankees lineup.
Rodriguez hurt his leg April 20 in Baltimore and missed three games last week before returning for a four-game series at Cleveland. But he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of Monday night’s 5-2 win over the Indians and said he felt a “pull” while running the bases.
He had an MRI on Tuesday that revealed a Grade 2 strain.
“It’s painful to see that lineup without me in the cleanup spot and helping my team win every day,” Rodriguez said.
This is his fifth stint on the DL and first since July 2000 with Seattle, when he had a strained right knee. His last stop on the injured list didn’t seem to slow him down too much – the three-time AL MVP finished with 41 homers and 132 RBIs in his last season with the Mariners.
A-Rod’s absence does come at a difficult time for New York, which is already missing injured catcher Jorge Posada. The Yankees are waiting for additional opinions on Posada’s ailing throwing shoulder before determining whether he needs surgery.
Alberto Gonzalez was at third base and Jose Molina behind the plate when the lineup was posted for Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Morgan Ensberg started at third and rookie Chris Stewart was the catcher for New York’s 6-4 loss to Detroit on Tuesday night.
The Yankees optioned Stewart to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and recalled reliever Chris Britton from their top farm club just one day after they sent him down. They also signed catcher Chad Moeller after designating him for assignment on Friday.
Moeller cleared waivers, declined an assignment to Scranton then signed a free-agent deal with New York. Reliever Sean Henn was reinstated from a rehab stint and designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
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