Kevin Youkilis has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lumbar spine sprain and recalled infielder Corban Joseph from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his spot on the roster.

The move was anticipated after Youkilis was expected to have an epidural on his lower back Tuesday and is particularly damaging since the Yankees can no longer backdate the DL stint to April 20, when he was removed from a game in Toronto.

Instead, they can only go back as far as last Saturday, since Youkilis played that day.

A second MRI exam revealed no new damage to the back Monday, but it Youkilis was still feeling discomfort.

And with Jayson Nix struggling at third base and Mark Teixeira not close to returning from his wrist injury, the already depleted Yankees lineup is now even weaker.