MLB roundup: Yankees sign Derek Lowe
Right-hander Derek Lowe signed with the Yankees and is expected to join the team and be available out of the bullpen Monday night.
Lowe, 39, was released by the Indians after going 8-10 with a 5.52 ERA in 119 innings pitched. The 16-year veteran started the season with a 3.06 ERA during his first 11 starts. However, he was 0-3 record with a 15.88 ERA in his final three starts before being designated for assignment Aug. 2.
Lowe started 21 games for Cleveland this year, but has 278 career relief appearances. In fact, he's one of only three pitchers in major league history with at least 160 career wins and at least 80 career saves, joining John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley.
The Yankees optioned right-hander Ryota Igarashi to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Lowe on the 25-man roster.
--- Boston Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky died at age 92 on Monday.
He has been tied to the Red Sox organization for over 73 years, as a player, broadcaster, manager and ambassador.
Pesky, a 5-foot-9 shortstop and fan favorite, had a career batting average of .307 in 10 seasons despite missing the 1943-45 seasons serving in World War II. Pesky broke through with the Red Sox in 1942 and returned to the team in 1946.
The Red Sox retired his jersey No. 6 in 2008.
The right field foul pole at Fenway Park is named "Pesky's Pole" though he hit only 17 career home runs.
---Left-handed reliever J.C. Romero is back with the Orioles organization after Baltimore acquired him Monday from the Cleveland Indians organization in exchange for minor league infielder Carlos Rojas.
Romero will be added to the Orioles' 25-man and 40-man rosters Tuesday, and he'll join Troy Patton to give the team a second left-handed reliever.
The 36-year-old veteran began the season with the St. Louis Cardinals, producing a 10.13 ERA and no decisions in 11 appearances before he was released in mid-May.
---Utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Dodgers with left hip inflammation.
The move is retroactive to Aug. 12. Hairston is batting .273 with four home runs and 26 RBIs this season.
Infielder/outfielder Elian Herrera was recalled from Class AAA Albuquerque. He hit .243 in 51 games with the Dodgers before being optioned July 13.
--- Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg will miss two or three starts at the end of the season based on the team's plan, MLB.com reported..
Strasburg has thrown 133 1/3 innings this season, and he will throw no more than 180, a source told MLB.com. However, he might throw more than the 160 innings that was believed to be the original limit the team had set for this season. Strasburg will not pitch in the postseason once he is shut down if the Nationals make it to the playoffs, MLB.com reported.
---Outfielder Nate Schierholtz, who was acquired by the Phillies in a trading-deadline deal that sent Hunter Pence to the Giants, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right big toe. It's unclear whether Schierholtz's injury will require surgery, but if it does, his season may be over. Schierholtz sustained the injury in his only at-bat on Sunday. He was hitting .219 (7-for-32) with one home run and two RBIs in 11 games.
The Phillies recalled infielder Hector Luna from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He appeared in 26 games with the Phillies this season, batting .246 with two home runs and 10 RBIs.
--- Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who has been out since he injured his thumb on July 20, was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Monday, the team announced.
To make room, the team sent second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka to Triple-A Rochester.
Plouffe bruised his thumb when he was jammed by a pitch against the Royals. He missed 21 games. With the Twins this season, Plouffe is hitting .259 with 19 homers in 74 games.
---The White Sox recalled left-hander Donnie Veal from Triple-A Charlotte prior to Monday's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Veal takes the roster spot of outfielder Jordan Danks, who was optioned to Charlotte after Sunday's game against the A's.
--- The Chicago Cubs selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Michael Bowden from Triple-A Iowa and sent left-handed pitcher Brooks Raley to Triple-A Iowa.
This will be the second stint with the Cubs for Bowden, 25. He was acquired by the Cubs from the Red Sox for outfielder Marlon Byrd on April 21, and he was 0-0 with a 6.39 ERA in 12 games for both clubs. He was designated for assignment on June 1.
