YANK NOTES
DETROIT – Change for the sake of change.
That’s how GM Brian Cashman described dumping Mike Stanton and Paul Quantrill Wednesday night and purchasing lefty reliever Wayne Franklin from Columbus (Triple-A) yesterday.
Outfielder Bubba Crosby will also be on hand for tonight’s game against the Tigers at Comerica Park after being promoted from Columbus.
Stanton and Quantrill were officially designated for assignment yesterday after being told of it late Wednesday night. The Yankees have 10 days to trade or release the veterans. Stanton has a full no-trade pact so he has a say in where he goes if a trade develops. He said he wants to continue to pitch. Quantrill, who doesn’t have a no-trade clause, wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue pitching.
The 31-year-old Franklin’s arrival comes one day after righty reliever Jason Anderson was promoted from the Clippers and shortly after Scott Proctor, another right-handed reliever, was elevated from Columbus.
“We have not performed up to expectations,” Cashman said of the 39-38 Yankees. “It’s been going on for a long enough period of time where we are looking to make changes now for changes sake.”
While nobody could argue that Stanton and Quantrill weren’t struggling, adding Franklin to the bullpen as a lefty specialist raises eyebrows because Stanton held lefties to a .176 (6-for-34) average and Triple-A lefties were hitting .276 (16-for-58) against Franklin, who has appeared in 119 big league games with a record of 14-15. He has pitched for the Astros, Brewers and Giants, who cut him this past March.
“One aspect of the club that has struggled is the bullpen area,” said Cashman, who is inclined to take a look at Franklin, Proctor and Anderson before going outside for help.
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One day after Joe Torre said the reports from Tampa were so good that there was a chance Kevin Brown could come off the DL and start Tuesday against the Orioles, Cashman defused that thinking.
“He hasn’t thrown off the mound, so July 5 is not necessarily an option,” Cashman said of Brown, who tested his balky back with a game of catch from 50 feet Wednesday and reported no problems.
The leading candidate to be promoted from Columbus to is veteran righthander Aaron Small.