Chase Whitley to meet team doctor, may have elbow surgery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The New York Yankees are trying to stay optimistic as they sent their third pitcher this season to the disabled list Friday.

Right-hander Chase Whitley, as expected, went on the DL with a torn tendon in his pitching elbow. He left in the second inning of Thursday night's loss to Tampa Bay with right elbow pain that had been bothering him for a while.

Manager Joe Girardi said a decision on whether Whitley needs surgery will wait until he sees team doctor Christopher Ahmad on Monday.

"I think it's just a matter of our doctor evaluating him and deciding what's the best course," Girardi said.

Whitley was replaced on the roster by right-handed reliever Jose Ramirez, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, meanwhile, had an encouraging bullpen session Friday, his second since going on the 15-day DL with tendinitis in his right wrist and a strain in his right forearm.

Tanaka, who is 2-1 with a 3.22 ERA, threw 35 pitches, up five from his previous session, and said he felt good after throwing his complete array of pitches. He said he felt no symptoms of what caused the problems in the first place.

"I don't feel it at all," he said.

If Tanaka continues to feel better, Girardi said, "Then we'll sit down and talk about what's next. It could be a number of different things. I think the big thing if he comes in and tells us he feels good tomorrow, and then we'll make a decision. Everything he's done he's passed with flying colors. Obviously, the intensity turns up when you get in games. But so far, so good."

Along with Whitley and Tanaka, reliever Chris Martin recently went on the DL with right elbow tendinitis. Ivan Nova is going through rehab following Tommy John surgery in the hopes of returning next month.

Sorting out his team's pitching in the wake of the latest setback, Girardi has scheduled left-hander Chris Capuano to start against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday and pushed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to Tuesday at the Washington Nationals.

"We figure it's the best way to work it out, moving forward to the teams we match up against," Girardisaid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.