Go ahead and exhale — sort of. After leaving yesterday’s game following five strong innings and just 77 pitches, Andy Pettitte’s MRI revealed mild inflammation of the left elbow, which Chad Jennings reports will be treated conservatively and evaluated on a daily basis. But according to Brian Cashman, the doctor deemed the results “good news,” and he said that there were no issues with the ligaments. Regardless, Cashman said it’s likely that Pettitte will miss his next start, which would have been next Tuesday in Detroit.
Sergio Mitre — who pitched in relief of Pettitte yesterday — would be the leading candidate to make that start, a day after the Javier Vazquez extra-rest experiment plays out. According to the Post, Ivan Nova would be the most likely candidate to make the jump from AAA should the Yankees opt to call someone up, but that would require a roster move they’d rather not make for what might just be a temporary situation.
In other injury news, Girardi said he expects Mariano Rivera to be available tomorrow night at Fenway — Rivera thought he could have pitched yesterday — and said that they’ll assess Jorge Posada’s health tomorrow before making a decision on when he’ll return. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter remains the only member of the “Core Four” who isn’t hurting, but at least he’s got the back page of the Daily News doing its part to remind him to stay safe as he awaits his inevitable SI-induced injury.
