The Yankees have released 28-year old lefty reliever Andrew Sisco and 29-year old righty reliever Brian Anderson. Sisco pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball and he was 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He only gave up 8 hits and he whiffed 15 batters in only 14 1/3 innings this year, but, he also walked 12 batters and that’s hard to put up with. Anderson was attempting to convert to a full-time pitcher after years of being an outfielder and it just hasn’t worked out as he has not pitched at all this year.

27-year old lefty swinging LF Barry Gardner has caught fire with the bat in May after having a rough month in April. Gardner has played in 24 games so far in May and he is 24 for 68 (.353 avg, .864 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 47 games so far this year and he is 37 for 137 (.270 avg, .764 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers, 13 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Yankees are getting paid off for having patience with Gardner as he is really swinging a hot bat right now.

The Yankees have claimed 25-year old righty reliever Kanekoa Texeira off waivers from the Royals. He pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Royals earlier this year and he was 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA and a 2.53 WHIP. Texeira has now pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Texeira was yanked off the Yankees’ roster during the 2009 Rule 5 Draft by the Mariners, so the Yankees are likely very happy to have him back in the fold.

Lefty reliever Sparky Lyle was a solid closer for the New York Yankees. He won the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1977 for the Yankees. He pitched in 72 games (0 starts) in 1977 for the Yankees and he was 13-5 with 26 saves, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in an amazing 137 innings pitched. He pitched 7 years with with Yanks and he worked in 420 games (0 starts) in which he was 57-40 with 141 saves, a 2.41 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He made three All-Star teams in his 7 years with the Yankees. Lyle is #3 in Yankees’ history in saves (141), #6 in games pitched (420) and #3 in ERA (2.41).

Lefty Jim Kaat might already be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame if he just pitched a little better in his two years with the Yankees. Kaat pitched with the Yankees in 1979 and 1980. He worked in 44 games (1 start) in his two years with the Yankees, and Kaat was 2-4 with 2 saves,a 4.12 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Kaat finished his major league career (25 years) with 283 career wins, so he didn’t get an automatic punch into the Hall of Fame. Maybe if he pitched better with the Yankees, he would have made it.

With set-up man Rafael Soriano out of action for a while, the Yankees are going to need 29-year old righty David Robertson and 25-year old righty Joba Chamberlain to step up. Chamberlain will serve as the set-up man with Robertson taking over his role in the 7th inning. Chamberlain has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.80 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He has only given up 17 hits with 4 walks in his first 21 1/3 innings as he’s getting back to the pitcher he used to be before the Yanks tried to convert him back into a starting pitcher. David Robertson has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He has walked 15 batters in his first 16 2/3 innings which is way too many….but….he has also whiffed 26 batters which is impressive. The Yankees need Robertson and Chamberlain to be a consistent bridge to Mariano Rivera while Soriano is out of action.

The Yankees have placed 31-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano on the 15-day disabled list due to a right elbow injury. Soriano has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He has walked 11 batters in his first 15 innings as he has just not looked right so far this year. Maybe a rest will get him back on the right track. The Yankees have called up 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Dickerson to replace Soriano on the active roster. Dickerson played in 30 games in AAA-ball for the Yankees so far this year and he is 28 for 113 (.248 avg, .724 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Dickerson has played in 173 games in parts of three years in the majors and he is 121 of 454 (.267 avg, .759 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

UPDATE: (5/25/2011) - The Yankees will be without Rafael Soriano for the next 6-8 weeks after his visit with Dr. James Andrews earlier today.

The Yankees have signed 35-year old lefty reliever Randy Flores to a minor league deal. Flores has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has whiffed 19 batters in only 18 2/3 innings in the minors so far this year. Flores has pitched in 350 games (3 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 11-5 with 4 saves, a 4.61 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Flores will likely get a shot later this year if he gets off to a good start in AAA with the Yankees.

35-year old righty swinging 3B Alex Rodriguez has been awful so far in May. He has played in 15 games for the Yankees so far this month and he is 11 for 59 (.186 avg, .492 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. A-Rod has also whiffed 17 times this month as pitchers are coming right after him this month. Rodriguez has now played in 35 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 31 for 128 (.242 avg, .781 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 6 homers, 22 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Yanks need A-Rod to get his act together because it will be hard to win with him slumping.

39-year old lefty swinging DH Jorge Posada asked out of the lineup last night before the Yankees-Red Sox game which the Red Sox won 6-0. Depending on what you believe could be true, he either asked out because of a stiff back, to clear his head or because he was insulted to be batting 9th. The only acceptable answer would be a stiff back, but, if that were the case: Why did he wait so long to tell Joe Girardi? I think something else is going on here. I think he wants to quit but he doesn’t want to give up his $13 million dollar contract. Posada is only 4 for 25 (.160 avg) in his last 8 games and he has 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Posada has now played in 32 games this year and he is 18 for 109 (.165 avg, .621 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers, 15 RBIs and 30 whiffs. Posada has played in 1,746 games in his 17 years with the Yankees and he is 1,601 of 5,857 (.273 avg, .852 OPS) with 878 runs scored, 267 homers, 1,036 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Posada is #10 in games played (1,746) in Yankees’ history. He is also #7 in doubles (367), #8 in homers (267) and he is #8 in walks (912) in Yankees’ history. If the Yankees decide to ditch or bench Posada they likely have a couple of options. One, they could go with veteran Andruw Jones at DH. Jones has played in 14 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 8 for 35 (.229 avg, .613 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has also whiffed 11 times already this year. Jones would provide the Yankees with power but little else. The other option is to bring up 21-year old righty swinging Miguel Montero. He is the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Montero has played in 29 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 40 for 119 (.336 avg, .802 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 409 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 489 for 1,551 (.315 avg, .876 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 60 homers, 263 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Despite Posada’s legacy with the Yankees, he needs to really step up now when given a chance or they are going to cut him loose.