The foul ball that hit Brian McCann in the mask on Friday will cost him at least a week on the disabled list.
But while the catcher was placed on the seven-day concussion DL on Saturday, the Yankees did receive some potentially positive news on Mark Teixeira, who might return to the lineup Sunday after missing his third straight game with an injured left pinky.
As for McCann, the DL stint was hardly surprising following his Saturday visit with a neurologist. Austin Romine was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his spot.
McCann suffered the injury in the third inning on Friday, but didn’t come out until complaining to Joe Girardi of being “foggy” in the sixth.
“It’s what we felt necessary to do to protect him and make sure he was going to be OK,” said the manager, who made no promises McCann would be back when he is eligible. “With concussions, you don’t know. It’s slight, but you never know.”
In McCann’s absence, Girardi said he planned to play Francisco Cervelli every day, just like he did when McCann filled in at first base during Teixeira’s lat injury.
“I think he can handle it,” Girardi said. “But if he needs a blow, I’m not afraid to put Romine in.”
Chase Headley played first in place of Teixeira, whom Girardi said felt “better” on Saturday.
“It’s possible [Sunday] he’s a player,” Girardi said. “He’s got to go through BP. … He’s definitely closer than he was [Friday].”
While Teixeira said the cut that required three stitches had healed sufficiently, the joint in his finger was still bothersome when he spoke to reporters prior to Saturday’s game.
Teixeira was only able to take swings at 50 percent off a tee on Friday and said it was “very painful.”
“Obviously, that’s not going to get the job done,” Teixeira said. “The cut is, I don’t want to say irrelevant, but the joint is really, really sore. Whether it’s sprained or bruised, we’re not really sure. But with the joint, I can’t grip a bat.”
He dismissed the possibility of landing on the DL, at least for now.
“I would hope not,” Teixeira said. “We’re day-to-day here.”
Derek Jeter isn’t the only Yankee moving up the all-time hits list. With his infield single in the fifth, Ichiro Suzuki moved into 48th place, passing George Sisler with 2,811 in the majors.
Brian Roberts was given his unconditional release prior to Saturday’s game. Matt Daley was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Highly touted prospect RHP Luis Severino was placed on the 15-day DL by Double-A Trenton with a strained oblique.