Updated on Tex, Youk, and Tonight's Game

Here's an update on both injured Yankees via Bryan Hoch:

The Yankees placed first baseman Mark Teixeira on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with inflammation in his right wrist, and are hopeful that the minimum 15 days will be enough for Teixeira to calm his wrist down. He said that it affects him most when hitting left-handed, and that allowing it time to heal should help him regain his mechanics.

New York recalled outfielder Zoilo Almonte and right-hander Adam Warren from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in corresponding moves, while designating right-hander Chris Bootcheck for assignment.

Additionally, the Yankees received an unfortunate report from Kevin Youkilis’ doctor visit in California. Dr. Robert Watkins will perform surgery on Thursday to repair a herniated disc in Youkilis’ back; he is expected to miss 10-12 weeks, according to general manager Brian Cashman.

Just awful news on both counts. This season is getting ugly fast.

Speaking of ugly, this weather blows and has forced the Yankees to postpone tonight's game. It will be made up tomorrow afternoon as part of a day-night, separate admission doubleheader tomorrow. For some more information on Yankees vs Dodgers tickets, read this post from earlier today.

Updates on Pineda, Youk & Wang

- Michael Pineda is one step closer to a return after a successful outing in the Florida State League:

- Kevin Youkilis missed Sunday's game in Seattle with lower back stiffness, but the injury isn't anything major. “It’s nothing like it was before,” Youkilis said. “Just needs a little rest.”

- And in case you missed it, Chien Ming Wang opted out of his Yankees contract last week and signed and will start for Toronto on Tuesday against the White Sox. Wang had a 2.33 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A. Personally, I would have liked to see him get a chance to start the for the Yankees.

Youkilis Headed To The DL

From Dan Martin:

Kevin Youkilis has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lumbar spine sprain and recalled infielder Corban Joseph from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his spot on the roster.

The move was anticipated after Youkilis was expected to have an epidural on his lower back Tuesday and is particularly damaging since the Yankees can no longer backdate the DL stint to April 20, when he was removed from a game in Toronto.

Instead, they can only go back as far as last Saturday, since Youkilis played that day.

A second MRI exam revealed no new damage to the back Monday, but it Youkilis was still feeling discomfort.

At least it doesn't seem to be anything serious. Still, the Yankees screwed this one up, there was no reason to play him on Saturday. Brian Cashman feels the same way. “Playing him on Saturday was a mistake by everyone involved,” Cashman said on Tuesday. “He had six days off. He felt he was ready. He played. He slid into first base. He’s still balky from it.”

Youkilis: "I'll always be a Red Sox"

I get why he's saying this, or at least what he means by it, but this isn't the best way to introduce yourself to Yankees fans.

How about some news about the only 3rd baseman on the roster who's healthy?

There were several stories around the interwebs in recent days on another Yankees third basemen, Kevin Youkilis, discussing various topics ranging from his batting stance, his relationship with Joba Chamberlain, and his Judaism.

First, how he feels about being a Jewish athlete playing in New York, a city with a fairly large Jewish population:

Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis takes pride in the way he hits, in the way the field and in the way he hustles.

He also takes pride in his religion, which is Judaism.

“The Jewish heritage thing has had such a huge impact on my whole entire career,” Youkilis told the YES Network’s Jack Curry. “Requests my agent gets — Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, you name it. It’s a big thing, and it means a lot to a lot of Jewish youth and the Jewish community. I try to embrace it as much as I can, and I wish I could go to as many Bar and Bat Mitzvahs as possible, but the schedule doesn’t allow for it.”

The three-time All-Star is one of only a handful of Jewish players in the big leagues.

“It’s kind of fun around the league,” Youkilis admitted. “When I see Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler and other guys, we kind of joke around.”

Moving on to his relationship with Joba Chamberlain:

A text message Joba Chamberlain received from Kevin Youkilis appears to have put an end to whatever lingering bad blood the two may have shared.

Not long after Youkilis signed with the Yankees to take Alex Rodriguez’s place at third base, Chamberlain left his new teammate a voicemail. And at a charity event last month, a perturbed Chamberlain revealed the message had not been returned.

“I did everything I could, and I can’t control what Kevin Youkilis does,” Chamberlain said at the time.

But asked yesterday if that had changed, Chamberlain said it had.
Leah Millis
Joba Chamberlain at Yankees' minor league complex.

“Yeah, it changed,” Chamberlain said. “He texted me. I’m not going to say what he said.”

What happens next likely will have to wait until Youkilis reports to spring training later this month, but Chamberlain indicated things had been smoothed over.

“We’ll hug it out,” Chamberlain said.

And finally, here's a video from YES about his plans to change that batting stance that we all hated so much when he was a Red Sock:

Kevin Long Getting An Early Start With Youkilis

From Dan Martin:

Long already has begun working with Rodriguez’s temporary replacement at third, visiting Kevin Youkilis in San Jose, Calif., last week.

“We looked at old film and compared it to 2012,” Long said. “We saw some considerable differences, mainly in his stance and it looked like the adjustments had an impact. ... I think we can get him back to being an all-star caliber player.”

Long plans on heading to Tampa shortly before pitchers and catchers arrive next month. He’s eager to put the pain of last year’s flameout against the Tigers in the ALCS behind him.

“It took a little longer for the sting to go away,” Long said of the sweep. “I feel like I’ve had a great career and done a great job, but that was a tough week. I feel good moving forward.”

I still think Long should have been fired after the way this team hit the last couple of seasons, but at least he's trying.

Kevin Youkilis is Yankees

Some Think Youkilis is Waiting For A Non-Yankee Offer

From CSNNE.com:

"You think he just doesn't want to play for the Yankees?" ex-Sox infielder Lou Merloni asked Monday night on 'Uno's Sports Tonight'. "The history, and playing for the Red Sox? . . .

"I think like he's waiting for other offers because he just doesn't want to play for the Yankees."

Here's the video from the article:

It does seem kind of odd that he has not yet accepted the offer from the Yankees, especially when you consider that as of now nobody else is in the mix. Oh well, I assume we'll have our answer in the next day or two.

Youkilis 'Seriously Considering' Yankees as Cleveland Signs Reynolds

From the NY Daily News:

The Yankees could have an answer to their third-base problem shortly and the possibility it’ll be Kevin Youkilis may have gained steam Sunday night when Mark Reynolds reportedly agreed to a deal with the Indians.

Cleveland was viewed as the Yankees’ biggest competition for Youkilis. But CBSsports.com, which first reported Reynolds’ agreement and said he was going to play first base for the Indians, said the move meant Cleveland would use Lonnie Chisenhall at third.

So with one serious suitor down, the Yankees’ chances may have improved, though the Mariners and Dodgers are among the teams that also have reportedly shown interest in Youkilis. Youkilis’ agent, Joe Bick, said Sunday his client is “giving serious consideration to the Yankees” but wouldn’t offer more detail on what other teams were involved.

“Kevin’s in the process of considering options and we’ll obviously make a decision at some point not too far in the future here,” Bick said.

It would appear that the Youkilis signing is inevitable. Stay tuned...

Yankees Offer Youkilis One-Year, $12 Million Deal

Ken Rosenthal and Bob Nightengale have both confirmed the report.

Replacing A-Rod Update: Youkilis, Keppinger, Scutaro

Also, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, the Yankees and Cadinals have both shown interesting is Marco Scutaro.