The Yankees have designated catcher Chris Stewart for assignment so that they could call up 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brett Gardner. Gardner has played in 80 games in AAA for the Yanks this season and he is 81 for 282 (.287 avg, .841 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 29 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Gardner will probably get a lot of playing time until Hideki Matsui is ready to return from the D.L. Gardner brings a new demension for the Yanks’ offense as he’s a very fast baserunner.

The Yankees have placed OF/DH Hideki Matsui on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left knee. Matsui has played in 69 games this season for the Yankees and he is 81 for 251 (.323 avg, .862 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 7 homers and 34 RBIs. This will hurt the Yankees as they are not as deep as they have been in the past and Matsui is a very clutch hitter.

The Yankees have claimed righty reliever Oneli Perez off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. He was having a rough time in AAA this season as he has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) there and he was 0-1 with 2 saves, a 8.49 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. Perez was a highly thought of and very productive pitcher in the minors in the White Sox system prior to this year. Perez pitched in 184 games (3 starts) in his minor league career prior to 2008 and he was 24-11 with 35 saves and a 2.14 ERA. It never hurts to add an arm like Perez’ especially when he comes for free.

UPDATE: The Yankees have designated Oneli Perez for assignment. Wow, that was quick.

The Yankees have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract but they added him to the 40-man roster. That way he is much easier to bring up to the majors. The Yankees hope that he only needs a couple of starts in the minors before he’s ready to join them. Ponson started 9 games for the Rangers this season and he was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 268 games (254 starts) in his major league career and he is 86-102 with 1 save, a 4.90 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Yankees hope Ponson is better than he was in 2006 for them as he pitched in 5 games (3 starts) that season for the Yankees and he was 0-1 with a 10.47 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. The Yankees will need someone much better than Ponson to replace Chien-Ming Wang if they want to return to the playoffs in 2008.

Johnny Damon is as hot as a firecracker right now with a bat in his hands. He has played in 15 games this June and he is 28 for 63 (.444 avg, 1.056 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. His hot streak has really jump started the Yankees’ offense this month as it finally appears to be hitting on all cylinders. Damon has now played in 67 games this season for the Yanks and he is 85 for 259 (.328 avg, .890 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 6 homers, 31 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Maybe some of Damon’s recent success will rub off on some of his teammates and if that happens the Yanks will be scoring a ton of runs.

The Yankees have lost righty starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang until at least late August and quite possibly the remainder of the season. He was injured running the bases against the Astros over the weekend. Wang had a mid foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot and he also has a ligament tear in his right foot. Wang has started 15 games for the Yankees this season and he is 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. The Yankees will likely have to make a deal to replace Wang as their own prospects appear to be vastly overrated due to the failures of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy this season. This is a huge blow to the Yankees chances of winning the A.L. East this season or even the Wild Card.

The Yankees weren’t expecting much out of 39-year old righty starter Mike Mussina but he has been the best starting pitcher on the Yanks by far. Mussina has started 14 games for the Yankees this season and he is 9-4 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Mussina’s outstanding control has been the main reason for his success this year as he has only walked 11 batters in 75.1 innings this season. But, Mussina has allowed 82 hits and 10 homers this season so he will have to continue to change speeds and hit his location to remain effective. As funny as it sounds, Mike Mussina might be able to win 20 games in a season for the first time in his major league career. Mussina has won 19 games twice in a season but never 20 despite being one of the better pitchers of his generation. He has now pitched in 517 games (516 starts) in his major league career and he is 259-148 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

The Yankees signed 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Juan Miranda to a 4-year, $4 million dollar contract in 2006. He is the #21 rated player in the Yankees’ minor league system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. Miranda has played in 32 games in AAA this season and he is 29 for 107 (.271 avg, .826 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. It wouldn’t hurt to give Miranda a chance at playing in the show based on Shelley Duncan’s horrible start to the season in New York.

The Yankees have placed righty reliever Chris Britton on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled right ribcage. He was pitching well for the Yankees this season. He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Yanks this season and he was 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Britton will be replaced on the roster by 31-year old righty Dan Giese. Giese has pitched in 1 game for the Yankees this season and he is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Giese has also pitched in 13 games (10 starts) in AAA ball this season and he is 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He only has allowed 43 hits in 59 AAA innings this season.

28-year old righty Scott Patterson was called up by the Yankees to replace Morgan Ensberg on the roster and he will join the bullpen. Patterson has pitched in 1 game for the Yanks so far and he worked 1.1 innings while allowing 1 earned run and 1 hit. He was 1-0 with 3 saves, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in AAA this season.