NEW YORK (AP) -Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth attended his appeal hearing Tuesday and hopes to have his three-game suspension reduced.
Farnsworth was penalized for throwing a fastball behind the neck of Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez last month, but insisted it wasn’t intentional.
“I think we had a good case, so hopefully it’ll get knocked down,” Farnsworth said. “I felt good about it.”
The Yankees expected a ruling from the commissioner’s office in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, Farnsworth was available to pitch Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series against Cleveland.
Farnsworth said his hearing began about 2 p.m. at Yankee Stadium and lasted nearly two hours. Also in attendance, he said, were Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball, as well as Yankees president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman and assistant general manager Jean Afterman.
New York also activated reserve infielder Wilson Betemit from the 15-day disabled list and optioned shortstop Alberto Gonzalez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Betemit had been sidelined since April 14 with conjunctivitis, also called pink eye. He was in the starting lineup Tuesday night, batting eighth and playing third base in place of injured star Alex Rodriguez.
New York manager Joe Girardi said Betemit and Morgan Ensberg will share playing time at third until Rodriguez returns from a strained right quadriceps.
“We’ll go day by day,” Girardi said.
The manager said he doesn’t necessarily think Rodriguez will need a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the Yankees. That decision could be left up to A-Rod.
“He might feel comfortable getting a couple games under his belt,” Girardi said.
The Yankees sent Gonzalez to the minors because they want him to play regularly. He was called up when shortstop Derek Jeter went down last month with a quadriceps injury.
Gonzalez opened some eyes, too, going 7-for-26 (.269) with two doubles and three walks. He also ran the bases well and flashed a smooth glove.
In other news, Girardi said left-hander Kei Igawa will be called up from Triple-A to pitch this weekend in Detroit, almost definitely on Friday. Darrell Rasner will likely get the ball on Saturday after beating Seattle last weekend.
Barring an injury, Ian Kennedy will get at least two starts at Triple-A before the Yankees consider bringing him back to the majors. Kennedy was demoted to the minors on Sunday after going 0-2 with an 8.37 ERA in his first six outings.
“We want to see him get some starts and get it going,” Girardi said. “There’s no exact science to that plan. You just want to see him get right, that’s the most important thing.”
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