Yankees GM Brian Cashman admitted yesterday he has concerns about closer Mariano Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada, who both underwent shoulder surgeries.
“It’s very early in the process for those guys,” Cashman said yesterday. “I do have concerns just because I have a closer who we desperately need who’s coming off of shoulder surgery, no matter how minor it may be.
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“And I have a catcher who is a perennial All-Star, one of the premier players at that position in this game and a potential Hall of Fame candidate, here that we definitely need to come back, and he’s rehabbing a significant shoulder surgery.”
Cashman said Rivera hasn’t begun throwing yet, and that Posada did some throwing yesterday.
“So far, so good,” the GM said. “[But] when you get to the level of real functional activity … that’s when you really get a chance to get a better feel for this stuff.”
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Joba Chamberlain’s arraignment in Lincoln, Neb., on drunken-driving charges was delayed a second time yesterday after his lawyer requested a postponement.
Chamberlain’s arraignment originally was scheduled for Dec. 17.
The pitcher is charged with first-offense drunken driving and having an open alcohol container. He was pulled over Oct. 18 on the outskirts of Lincoln. Authorities say his blood-alcohol level was 0.134 percent; the legal limit in Nebraska is 0.08 percent.
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Oliver Perez’s agent, Scott Boras, declined to reveal much about the status of the Mets and the free-agent lefty, saying, “We’re talking with a number of teams regarding Perez.”
Asked about a timetable, Boras replied, “It’s obviously much farther along than it was a week ago.”
The Mets signed right-hander Kyle Snyder and left-hander Jon Switzer to minor-league deals.