Capuano designated following rocky spot start

ARLINGTON -- The Yankees have designated left-hander Chris Capuano for assignment, one day after the 11-year big league veteran was unable to make it out of the first inning in a spot start against the Rangers.

Capuano permitted five runs in just two-thirds of an inning on Tuesday, receiving a no-decision as the Yankees scored 21 unanswered runs in a 21-5 victory. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Capuano seemed to struggle after being removed from the team's rotation.

"Cappy has been a starter his whole career, and it seemed that he wasn't getting consistent work and he was having a hard time with it," Girardi said. "He's such a routine guy and he's such a professional. It was a difficult decision. Hopefully he sticks around and stays with us. We'll have to wait and see."

After Tuesday's game, the 36-year-old Capuano said that he was trying not to worry about the possibility that it might have been his final outing for the Yanks.

"That's not my area," Capuano said. "They're going to try to do what they can to make the team better. As a player, you do the best you can, and you can live with that. For me, I'm just focused on not getting down, bouncing back and being resilient like I've done throughout my career."

Signed to a one-year, $5 million deal and envisioned as the Yankees' fifth starter, Capuano's spring was interrupted by a strained right quadriceps sustained while covering first base. He made his season debut on May 17 and went 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA in 16 appearances (four starts) for New York.

"The thing about Cappy was, he was extremely professional. He worked really hard," Girardi said. "I thought he was a good example of how to go about your work and prepare yourself. He was always prepared and ready to help us."

In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees have selected right-hander Caleb Cotham to the 25-man roster from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cotham, 27, was 1-0 with a 1.37 ERA in 12 appearances at Triple-A after beginning the year at Double-A Trenton, where he was 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 15 appearances.

The move represents a vote of confidence in right-hander Diego Moreno, who threw 70 pitches in 5 1/3 hitless innings to earn his first big league victory on Tuesday. Though Moreno is likely unavailable to pitch for several days, the early indication is that he earned a spot on the roster with that performance.

"You can never tell what's going to happen. He pitched pretty well," Girardi said. "But you go through each game, and you make a decision. But we've kept him up. It stuck out, the way he pitched."

Video: NYY@TEX: Moreno tosses 5 1/3 hitless relief innings

Worth noting

• Mark Teixeira was not in the Yankees' lineup on Wednesday, but Girardi said that it was for a scheduled day off and not related to being hit by a pitch on his right foot in the sixth inning Tuesday. Teixeira did not receive X-rays, Girardi said.

• Yankees Minor League right-handed pitchers Anderson Acevedo, Anthoniris Santana and Carlos Santana have each received a 72-game suspension after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance. The suspensions of the three players, who are all currently on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Yankees, are effective immediately.