Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported a few minutes ago that Ramiro Pena is hopping on a plane and is en route to Seattle for today’s 3:40 PM EST start to replace the injured Alex Rodriguez on the Yankees roster. According to Sherman, the team had to get a body out to the west coast as quickly as possible, and Pena’s versatility will allow him to help not only in the infield, but also in the outfield if needed, as Nick Swisher is still out with a hip injury.
In 80 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, Pena is hitting .249 with a home run and 22 RBI. The light-hitting shortstop has a .302 on-base percentage. Pena has heated up of late, as he is 13-for-39 over his last ten games.
Nothing definite, but it is my guess that the Yankees will reassess their third base situation when they return home for a three game set with the Boston Red Sox on Friday. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see either Brandon Laird, who has caught fire of late, or Russell Branyan, who has been unstoppable with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, in pinstripes by the weekend.
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