ARod out until September with Broken Hand and other Yankees news

KEVIN P. CASEY/AP

ARod joined the list of the wounded with a non-displaced hand fracture that will sideline him for the next 6-8 weeks. With the exception of the switch hitters Teixeira and Swisher, ARod was the Yankees only regular right handed power bat and now the injury prone Chavez will need to play almost everyday. The Yankees could make a move for a third baseman, but I do not know how likely that is as I expect that it is more likely they could look for a versatile bench bat or just platoon Chavez and Nunez when he is healthy. They could also look for another bounce back candidate like Scott Rolen but I do not expect they will get involved for Chase Headley. The other bats are going to need to step up with ARod out especially with the Red Sox series coming up and some tough games in August. One interesting name to consider is Marco Scutaro if the Rockies make him available as he could play both Short Stop and Thirdbase. The Yankees have recalled Ramiro Pena for the time being.

Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect rehab inning yesterday and will rehab again today. The hope is that he can be back at the end of the month and that bullpen really needs it as the shortcomings of three match up guys in a seven man bullpen are really showing lately.

This one is not technically Yankees related but the Tampa Bay Rays DFA former Yankee Hideki Matsui who had only hit .147/.214/.221 with two home runs and one double in 103 PA. This is likely the end for Matsui as he struggled to find a job this season and looks to be done. When he played against the Yankees you could see that his power was gone as the balls off his bat just were not going out. Matsui was my favorite Yankee from when he first came to the team in 2003 and we will still have to wait to see if Matsui decides to walk away now that it seems he cannot play at the MLB level anymore.