Sergio Mitre can start packing his bags for The Bronx.
With the Yankees in need of a fifth starter to pitch Tuesday against the Orioles, manager Joe Girardi yesterday said the choice will be Mitre, a 28-year-old right-hander who was 10-23 with a 5.36 ERA over five major league seasons with the Cubs and Marlins.
Mitre underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has spent this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after serving a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test. Mitre has said he tested positive for androstenedione, which was in a legal supplement he purchased at GNC.
Androstenedione, commonly called “andro,” is a banned substance in baseball.
Girardi described Mitre, whom he managed with the Marlins, as a pitcher with an average fastball who relies on a sinker, curve and changeup.
“I’ve always thought he’s had kind of a bulldog attitude,” Girardi said. “When you look at him he’s a pretty thick guy. I never thought he shied away from contact, and he loved to take the ball every fifth day.”
Girardi said Alfredo Aceves, who started in Chien-Ming Wang’s spot the last time the Yankees needed a fifth starter, is too valuable in the bullpen to get another start.
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Girardi said he expects Wang (shoulder) to begin playing catch either tomorrow or Monday, but doesn’t have a timetable for his return from the disabled list.
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According to an SI.com report, MLB recently voided the Yankees’ signing of Damian Arredondo, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, because it was discovered he lied about his age and used a fraudulent identity. Arredondo, who will forfeit an $850,000 signing bonus, is older than 16, according to the report.
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The Yankees announced that Mike Mussina, Dwight Gooden, Mel Stottlemyre and Don Zimmer have been added to the list for Old-Timers’ Day ceremonies tomorrow.
