NEW YORK -- After hinting about it since the beginning of the season, Joe Girardi said on Sunday that the New York Yankees would call up Chase Whitley from AAA Scranton. Whitley will make the start Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, a move that will allow him to give his five starting pitchers an extra day's rest during this stretch of 30 games in 31 days.
"Our intentions are to start Chase Whitley on Tuesday, [Masahiro] Tanaka on Wednesday," Girardi said. "Now, could something happen to change that? Yes. I don't know what it would be, but those are our intentions."
That means that Michael Pineda would open the series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday, followed by CC Sabathia on Saturday afternoon and Nathan Eovaldi on Sunday. It also means Tanaka will miss the Red Sox -- and vice versa -- and also that Tanaka will not get to pitch on his Bobblehead Night on Tuesday, which he would have without the adjustment.
Whitley is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts for Scranton. The Yankees will have to send someone down to make room on the roster; the likeliest candidate is Chasen Shreve, who has options and is one of three lefthanders in their bullpen.
Ellsbury "better," but still out: Jacoby Ellsbury left Saturday afternoon's game against the Mets in the eighth inning after, Girardi said, "his hip tightened up a little." Ellsbury was not in the starting lineup for Sunday night's Subway Series finale, although Girardi described Ellsbury's hip as "better" today.
"He was going to try today," Girardi said. "He went through treatment and he was getting loose, and I just said, 'You know what? I was going to give you a day off one of these next few days anyway, the next four.' I think it's kind of silly if he would have to leave in the middle of the game so I kind of shut him down. Hopefully he'll be in there tomorrow."
Girardi said he did not know how Ellsbury got hurt, but said it might have been on a diving catch he made in the fourth inning of Saturday's game.
Ryan's hope: Backup shortstop Brendan Ryan, who began the season on the disabled list with a right calf strain, could begin playing extended spring training games sometime this week, Girardi said. If those go well, he would begin a rehab assignment in the minor leagues that starts the 30-day clock for either reinstatement to the roster or a return to the DL.