The MRI exam on Rafael Soriano’s sore right elbow revealed a little inflammation, but the Yankees expect to have the $35 million reliever back for this weekend’s Red Sox series.
Soriano complained of tenderness in the elbow last week in Detroit, and then again Tuesday. He saw the Yankees’ physician and was unavailable to pitch against the Royals on Tuesday night and last night.
Soriano asked to have the MRI exam to make sure nothing was seriously wrong with the elbow, on which he’s had two surgeries.
The Yankees have to be a bit concerned about Soriano’s elbow, since he made three appearances on the disabled list in 2008 with elbow problems while pitching for the Braves.
He wound up having surgery that year after having Tommy John surgery in 2004 while with the Mariners.
“Right now it isn’t [a concern],” manager Joe Girardi said. “If it reoccurs, then you start to get more concerned about it. Hopefully just a few days off will knock it out. Right now I’m not comparing ’08 to 2011, but if it keeps recurring, you might have some similar issues.”
Soriano said he will play catch today, and expects to be ready to pitch tomorrow.
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A published report last night said Yankees starter Bartolo Colon underwent a controversial procedure last April in the Dominican Republic where doctors injected stem cells into his elbow and shoulder to repair ligament and rotator-cuff damage.
The Yankees were unaware of this, according to the report, and have informed Major League Baseball, which is now looking into the procedure.
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The Yankees activated reliever Luis Ayala from the disabled list before last night’s game, and sent Lance Pendleton down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. …
With Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte both on the DL, the Yankees are looking for some left-handed bullpen help. A possible candidate is Randy Flores, who can opt out of his minor-league deal with the Padres on Sunday. Flores has spent eight years in the majors. He is 0-2 with a 3.12 ERA for Triple-A Tucson this year.