Joba Chamberlain went on the disabled list yesterday and nobody knows when the right-handed bridge to Mariano Rivera will return.
The Yankees are so concerned they are sending Chamberlain for a second MRI exam today after yesterday’s MRI exam revealed a strained flexor tendon. Today’s MRI exam will include a dye contrast, which is more thorough.
“That [problem] can lead to a long time,” general manager Brian Cashman said after last the Yankees’ 11-6 loss to the Red Sox last night at the Stadium. “We have had guys in the past that it took a month.”
The biggest fear is that often flexor tendon problems are the precursor of elbow ligament damage, which requires Tommy John surgery.
“[Today] we will have a better feel for what we are dealing with,” Cashman said.
Chamberlain, who has pitched very well since Rafael Soriano went on the disabled list on May 17 with elbow inflammation, and the Yankees can’t pinpoint when the problem surfaced.
“He will be off 10 to 14 days and hopefully start a throwing program,” manager Joe Girardi said.
According to Girardi, Chamberlain has been working with a tender arm for the last couple of weeks. but the manager didn’t believe Sunday’s 35-pitch outing, Chamberlain’s season high, in Anaheim was the reason for the injury.
“We have been careful with him with what we have done,” Girardi said of Chamberlain, who hadn’t allowed a run in his last eight appearances and had given up seven hits and fanned seven in 9 2/3 innings. “He played catch [Tuesday] and the arm felt pretty good [Wednesday] but we had the doctor look at it and they did an MRI. It’s pretty amazing, he probably pitched with it for a while.”
Chamberlain, who is 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 27 games, used his slider and curveball a lot Sunday against the Angels when he worked 1 ***2/3*** scoreless innings. Yesterday, he admitted his velocity was down Sunday.
With Soriano on the DL and nobody knowing when or if the $35 million investment/bust will pitch again this season, losing Chamberlain is devastating to an area that had been considered a strength based on the way David Robertson and Chamberlain had pitched in front of Rivera.
“He has been big for us in the absence of Soriano,” Girardi said. “Other guys are going to have to step up. Robbie will be moved back and [Luis] Ayala and [Boone] Logan will be expected to carry part of that load that Robbie did.”
Those are frightening words. Ayala has pitched well in a protected role without much pressure.
Logan, the only lefty in Girardi’s pen, continued to look lost last night.
Brought into the game with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth, Logan gave up a single and two walks.
Left-handed hitters are batting a hefty .324 (12-for-37) against Logan
Chamberlain, who is on the shelf for the second time in his career (he missed almost a month in 2008 with shoulder tendinitis), explained he said something to the team because that was the safest thing to do.
“It just gets tight. There’s no pain. You can do whatever you want but as soon as I’m done throwing it just gets tight. It’s one of those things that you have to take care of so it doesn’t cause compensation to hurt something else,” Chamberlain said. “I can’t even put a specific date on it. It would just be here or there. It just got to the point where it wasn’t worth risking anything else to not say anything.
“It’s tough when you’re throwing the ball well and doing the things that you need to help your team win,” he added. “That’s the most frustrating part is that I’m letting my team down.”
— Additional reporting by Brian Costello.