Kevin Youkilis helped talk his way back into the lineup Saturday, and now he and the Yankees are paying for it.
The third baseman was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a lumbar sprain, and because Youkilis played over the weekend, he won’t be eligible to come off the DL until May 13.
“If we could do it all over again, we would not have played him Saturday,” GM Brian Cashman said. “You do the fire drill, you go through it: trainers, manager, coaches, player, doctor, everyone’s involved, the front office. And if it works, you don’t look back. If it doesn’t work, you have regret.”
That’s where the Yankees are, since they will have to continue to rely on Jayson Nix at third base after calling up Corban Joseph from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday.
“Hopefully in a week to 10 days, we’ll get him doing baseball activities and he’ll be OK,” Joe Girardi said of Youkilis.
The decision to bring up Joseph was based primarily on the fact he was on the 40-man roster. David Adams, who is a better player, is not eligible to be called up until May 15 because the Yankees released him toward the end of spring training and then resigned him.
But neither of them are Youkilis — who, when healthy, has been productive since joining the Yankees.
If Youkilis, who had an epidural on his lower back yesterday, hadn’t played last Saturday, the Yankees could have backdated his DL stint to April 20, when he was removed from a game in Toronto.
“Hopefully it’s only two weeks and we get him back playing at the level he was playing at,” Girardi said. “Short-term, it’s something I’m a little concerned about, but it’s going to go away.”
Until then, Joseph is the only backup infielder. Asked about the lack of depth, Cashman slyly mentioned Eduardo Nunez.
“He’s the starting shortstop and backup third baseman,” Cashman said.
And when Youkilis does return, the Yankees will be hesitant to listen to him about his health.
“Usually when a player tells you he’s ready to go and he’s an experienced guy, you feel pretty good about his answer,” Girardi said.
“If it’s a young kid, you might think, ‘Is he trying to tell me something? Does he want me to think that he’s soft? If I don’t play, am I going to lose my job?’ A veteran player, you don’t worry too much about those things.”
That no longer applies to Youkilis if he has to deal with any more health issues.
“I might ask him six more times, yeah,” Girardi said.