The New York Yankees have claimed 25-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Schwinden off waivers from the Indians. Schwinden pitched in 3 games (2 starts) for the Mets earlier this year and he is 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP. He has also pitched in 13 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays, Mets and Indians in which he is 4-7 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Schwinden has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-3 with a 6.98 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Schwinden came into this season as the Mets’ #24 prospect according to Baseball America, so he’s a pitcher worth taking a chance on, especially with the situation the Yankees currently have in the starting rotation.

UPDATE: (7/4/2012) - The Yankees have designated Chris Schwinden for assignment. He pitched in 1 game (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Yankees and he was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. Schwinden was let go because the Yankees needed his roster spot for outfielder Darnell McDonald.

UPDATE: (7/6/2012) - The Yankees have lost Chris Schwinden on waivers to the Mets.

The Yankees have released 27-year old righty starter/reliever Adam Miller. Miller pitched in 13 games (8 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year for the Yankees and he was 0-4 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. He gave up 70 hits in only 49 innings in the minors as he was pitching batting practice. Miller has pitched in 148 games (102 starts) in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 33-34 with 2 saves, a 3.82 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. This could be the end of Miller’s career, which has been marred by injuries. This is not much of a loss for the Yankees.

40-year old lefty starting pitcher Andy Pettitte is going to miss the next 8 weeks as his left ankle was fractured in today’s 5-4 win over the Yankees when a line drive off Casey Kotchman’s bat hit him. Pettitte has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He only gave up 49 hits while whiffing 59 batters and only walking 15 of them in his first 58 2/3 innings this year, which is pretty darn impressive. Pettitte will be replaced in the starting rotation by 36-year old righty Freddy Garcia. Garcia has pitched in 14 games (4 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 6.39 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Yankees hope that Garcia can find some of the magic he showed off last year for them, when he worked in 26 games (25 starts) and was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Losing Sabathia and Pettitte will likely put the Yankees on the hunt for more starting pitching in the trade market.

UPDATE: (6/30/2012) - The Yankees have placed Andy Pettitte on the 60-day disabled list.

The Yankees have placed 31-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 25th, due to a left groin strain. Sabathia has pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 9-3 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has given up 107 hits in 107 innings this year while whiffing 105 batters and walking only 29…and those are impressive numbers. The Yankees are going to call up 24-year old righty Adam Warren to replace Sabathia in the starting rotation. Warren came into this season as the Yankees’ #15 prospect according to Baseball America. Warren has pitched in 15 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 5-5 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has now pitched in 79 games (all starts) in his four years in the minors for the Yankees and he is 26-22 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The Yankees hope that Warren is ready for prime time.

The Yankees have claimed 25-year old righty reliever Danny Farquhar off waivers from the Oakland A’s. He pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays & A’s earlier this year in which he was 1-3 with 1 save, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Farquhar does have some major league experience as he got into 3 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. He might be able to help the Yankees at some point in 2012.

UPDATE: (6/30/2012) - The Yankees have designated Danny Farquhar for assignment before he ever pitched in the minors for them.

UPDATE: (7/2/2012) - Danny Farquhar has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AA.

The Yankees have signed 27-year old righty reliever Jon Meloan to a minor league deal. Meloan pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League this year and he was 4-0 with 11 saves, a 0.99 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He gave up 23 hits and he walked 8 batters in 27 1/3 innings while whiffing 36 batters, and those are impressive numbers in any league. Meloan last pitched in the majors back in 2009 with the A’s. He has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

The Yankees are sitting at 44-28 on the season which has them in first place in the A.L. East, 3 games ahead of the Orioles, 4.5 games ahead of the Rays and 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. That being said, the Yankees are not a team without weaknesses. I would suggest they fix them now before the price goes up. With that in mind, I would deal with the Twins…..offering a so-so prospect for Alexi Casilla or Jamey Carroll. They are both utility type players who could give Derek Jeter or Robinson Cano a day off or a DH day once in a while. The Chicago Cubs are definitely going to have a fire sale and I would go after outfielder Reed Johnson. He can play all three outfield spots and he’s a righty swinger, who excels off the bench.

The Yankees signed 32-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano to a 3-year, $35 million dollar contract two winters ago with the idea that he would eventually replace Rivera as the closer. Well, that time has come and he’s looking good. Soriano has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 2-0 with 13 saves, a 1.78 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Soriano has now pitched in 69 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Yankees and he is 4-3 with 15 saves, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Yankees need Soriano to keep up the good work.

36-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF/DH Russell Branyan is killing the ball in AAA this year for the Yankees. He has played in 18 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 19 for 58 (.328 avg, 1.242 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 7 homers and 20 RBIs. He has played in 1,059 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 682 of 2,934 (.232 avg, .814 OPS) with 405 runs scored, 194 homers, 467 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. It’s a luxury to have a player like Branyan in AAA-ball.

31-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson continues to be a big time power source for the Yankees. He has played in 64 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 64 for 253 (.253 avg, .878 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 20 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Granderson has now played in 356 games in his first three years with the Yankees and he is 332 of 1,302 (.255 avg, .865 OPS) with 258 runs scored, 85 homers, 225 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Granderson has the perfect power swing for Yankees’ Stadium, so look for he power surge to continue.