SEATTLE — Brian Cashman says he isn’t a player in the bullpen market as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.
“I am not in it so I don’t know,’’ the Yankees’ general manager said Tuesday when asked for his read on the situation.
If Cashman didn’t have Joba Chamberlain getting close to coming off the DL, he might be more involved in a very shallow pool to upgrade his pen.
Chamberlain made his fifth minor league rehab start last night, this one for Single-A Tampa in Lakeland, Fla. He threw nine pitches.
The next step is back-to-back outings for the first time and the second one could be today.
“If he is OK we may go [today], we will see,’’ pitching coach Larry Rothschild said before the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Mariners at Safeco Field.
Earlier in the day Cashman was reluctant to say for sure when Chamberlain would work on consecutive days.
“He has to go back-to-back, but I am not saying when he will do that because if he doesn’t then it causes a frenzy about why didn’t he do it,’’ Cashman said.
Cashman said that Chamberlain, whose 30-day rehab stint ends Aug. 8, would need another outing after he throws two days straight.
He is scheduled to throw a bullpen at Yankee Stadium either this weekend or early next week.
“He would have to go again to see how his stuff maintains,’’ Cashman said of an outing that would likely be at a higher level than Single-A.
Chamberlain had Tommy John surgery last summer and ankle surgery in March. His return from the DL will likely cost Chad Qualls his roster spot and push Cody Eppley, who has struggled recently, away from late-inning calls. In his past four outings, Eppley has worked a total of one inning, allowed three runs and six hits.
To be fair, when Eppley joined the club he wasn’t expected to be pitching premium innings. Nevertheless, when Mariano Rivera went down in early May, Girardi employed the mix-and-match philosophy in situations before Boone Logan, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano pitched.
Eppley, who was claimed on waivers from the Rangers in early April, was called the “surprise of the first half’’ by Girardi at the All-Star break.
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Girardi said Nick Swisher won’t be in the lineup Wednesday, and it’s possible the right fielder won’t be ready Friday night against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. “Not today, probably Friday or Saturday,’’ Girardi said. Asked if the DL was a possibility, Girardi said, “Right now, no.’’
Swisher left Friday night’s game in Oakland with a mild left hip flexor strain and hasn’t played since. Since hitting six doubles in the first 71 games, Rodriguez had eight doubles in the previous 22 games.
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Going into last night’s game against the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez, Alex Rodriguez was in a 10-game stretch in which he was hitting .341 (14-for-41) with two homers, five RBIs and four doubles. Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch on the left hand, which will force him to the disabled list. He could miss up to six weeks.
“I have better balance at the plate to do damage,’’ Rodriguez, who homered to center and doubled off the top of the right-field wall in Monday night’s 4-1 victory, said before the game..
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After Cashman told MLB Radio yesterday that Mariano Rivera’s season is over, he repeated it to The Post.
“He was never coming back,’’ the GM said of his closer who suffered a torn ACL in early May shagging fly balls and underwent surgery.
During the All-Star break, Rivera’s physical therapist told The Post’s Joel Sherman he wouldn’t bet against Rivera returning.
Cashman called the therapist “unprofessional for going public.’’
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According to agent Joe Bick, Brett Gardner’s surgery Tuesday on the right (non-throwing) elbow didn’t uncover any extra problems.
Yankees physician Dr. Chris Ahmad performed the operation that was designed to repair inflamed tissue and remove bone spurs. Gardner will miss the remainder of the season.
“He called me afterward with a very positive report,’’ Bick said. “It was exactly what they expected to find and fix, no surprises.’’
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Girardi said he didn’t feel a need to talk with Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones how the acquisition of Ichiro Suzuki impacted their playing time.
When Swisher returns to right, Ichiro is going to left. which means less playing time for Ibanez and Jones, who have started a combined 68 games in left counting last night. “They aren’t 22 and looking over their shoulders,’’ Girardi said of the veterans. Gardner is done for the season and his status played a big part in the Yankees acquiring Ichiro from the Mariners Monday.
If Girardi rests Ichiro or uses him as the DH, there will be opportunities to play Ibanez and Jones in left.
Jones was on board with the move.
“They have been talking about it for a while, that they were going to get somebody after [Brett Gardner] went down,’’ Jones said. “This is a good addition.’
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By adding Ichiro Monday, the Yankees’ lineup houses three hitters with at least 2,500 hits. Derek Jeter has 3,212, Rodriguez 2,872 and Ichiro is at 2,535.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are the third set of teammates to each have at least 2,500H, joining the 1927 Philadelphia Athletics (Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins and Zack Wheat) and the 1928 Philadelphia Athletics (Cobb, Collins and Tris Speaker).
However, they never started in the same game like the Yankees’ trio did Monday night.
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No other team has three pitchers with at least 10 wins in the majors. Hiroki Kuroda, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova have 10 each.
Kuroda, who allowed three hits and a run in seven innings Monday night, is 7-1 with a 2.49 ERA in the last 11 starts. That ties him with the Rangers’ Matt Harrison and the Rays’ David Price for the most wins since May 27.