CLEVELAND — Carlos Beltran’s miserable first season as a Yankee hit yet another pothole Thursday, when the struggling designated hitter was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list.
Beltran was slated to return from a two-game absence because of a right hamstring tendon problem Wednesday night against the Indians, but during batting practice in the indoor cage, a ball off his bat rebounded off a protective screen and struck him in the face. In addition to a concussion, Beltran suffered two fractures to his nose.
“Obviously he had a concussion and the fractures in the nose,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We don’t think it’s going to require anything, but we got to make sure and we got to get it checked out. He went to New York to make sure. With the concussion, we felt it was best he didn’t play for a few days.’’
Since Beltran hasn’t played since Sunday, he will be eligible to come off the DL on Monday, but play doesn’t resume after the All-Star break until next Friday, so Beltran will get extra days to get ready. Girardi said he expects Beltran to return against the Reds next Friday night.
This is Beltran’s second DL stint of the season. He was out from May 13-June 5 with a bone spur in his right elbow that hasn’t allowed him to play the outfield since May 12.
When he has played, Beltran hasn’t been as advertised. He is hitting .216 with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 61 games.
Represented by former Yankees teammates Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher and Cleveland manager Terry Francona, the Indians presented Derek Jeter with two gifts before Thursday night’s 9-3 Cleveland victory.
The retiring shortstop received a Lego mosaic of his first big league homer, which he hit on Opening Day 1996, against the Indians in what was then Jacobs Field. He also got a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar that was decorated with pinstripes and Jeter’s No 2.
Jeter singled in the first and sixth innings for his 1,000th career multi-hit game. He is the fourth player since 1900 to have 1,000 multi-hit games for one team. The others are Ty Cobb, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron.
Jeter also took a hard grounder by Michael Brantley off his left (glove) wrist in the eighth inning, but in typical fashion, said after the game that he was fine.
In 70 career games at Progressive Field, Jeter batted .354 (102-for-288) with five homers and 35 RBIs.
With Beltran on the DL, the Yankees recalled infielder Yangervis Solarte from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The feel-good story of the first six weeks of the season, the switch-hitter slumped badly from mid-June until he was sent down July 3.
Solarte started at third base and batted eighth. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI single that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the fifth.
With the Indians starting left-hander T.J. House, Girardi didn’t use the left-handed hitting Ichiro Suzuki in right field. Instead the right-handed hitting Zelous Wheeler, who had played only third base in his short stint with the club, started in right.
Wheeler homered in the second with one runner on.