Yanks place Sabathia (hamstring) on DL
New York also promotes Cessa, German, options Herrera
OAKLAND -- The Yankees got a double-dose of injury news Thursday, as left-hander Carsten Sabathia was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain and first baseman Greg Bird (right ankle) was pulled back from his rehab assignment.
Sabathia has a Grade 2 hamstring strain, an MRI revealed on Wednesday. Hamstring stains are graded on a one-to-four scale, with Grade 1 being the mildest. Sabathia played catch before Thursday's game in Oakland.
The Yankees recalled right-handers Luis Cessa and Domingo German from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and optioned Ronald Herrera to Double-A Trenton. Herrera was the only reliever used in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to the Angels, pitching two innings and taking the loss.
Girardi said Cessa would likely to start in Sabathia's place, but the decision will depend on how much usage the Yankees' bullpen gets, especially after supplying 5 2/3 innings of work Tuesday night when Sabathia was pulled after four innings.
"We're looking at possibly staying away from [Jonathan] Holder, [Chasen] Shreve, Adam [Warren]," Girardi said. "These guys are pretty taxed from the last two days, and they threw a lot of pitches. I'll see how they feel and make an evaluation after BP."
Cessa's throwing schedule had him slotted to pitch Thursay, which is why Girardi said the Yankees are considering throwing Cessa on Saturday and bumping right-hander Masahiro Tanaka back a day to Sunday.