Yankees recall Cotham, designate Capuano

TORONTO -- Setting their bullpen up with another option to take on the powerful Blue Jays lineup, the Yankees recalled right-hander Caleb Cotham from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday afternoon, designating left-hander Chris Capuano for assignment.

"With the amount of right-handers they throw at you on a daily basis -- and you're going to see it with Minnesota, too -- you're going to see plenty of right-handed hitters," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We just thought the bullpen is rested again and the guys can give you some length, so we'd go with Cotham."

Cotham, 27, will begin his third stint with the Yankees this season, having made his Major League debut on July 29 at Texas. In 31 relief appearances between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A, he is 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA and two saves.

"He had been a starter most of his career until this year, and he's kind of done really well in that role and has moved up, and has thrown the ball well," Girardi said. "We saw him a little bit in Spring Training, very little, and he threw the ball well. He was on our radar a little bit. He's done a nice job."

The Yankees needed some extra bullpen help after Dellin Betances threw a scoreless eighth inning and Andrew Miller fired 28 pitches in locking down the save on Friday, a 4-3 Yankees victory at Toronto.

Video: TEX@NYY: Capuano snags Andrus' chopper up the middle

Capuano had not appeared since having his contract selected from Triple-A on Aug. 12, and is 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA in 16 games (four starts) for the Yankees this year. Capuano said that his preference, if he clears waivers, would be to report to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and continue getting stretched out as a starter.

"I kind of put [myself] behind the eight ball -- not intentionally, certainly -- by getting hurt in my second outing of Spring Training and missing about eight weeks," Capuano said. "That was a tough way to start the year. When I did get the opportunity, we all knew [Ivan] Nova was coming back.

"I don't think anyone could have anticipated how seamlessly he would have come back, basically one year out of Tommy John, which has been great. It's fun to watch him throw and good for this team. In this situation, there's never hard feelings. It's a numbers game. The horses we have running out there are the horses I would have out there, right now. They're doing a great job, pitching great and keeping us in games. That's baseball."