Yankees Summon Kevin Smith as Injury Relief; Jon Berti Returns for Short-Term Duty

Diablos Rojos against New York Yankees

The Yankees made a few moves ahead of tonight’s game against the Padres, the most notable of which was Jon Berti’s placement on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain. He left Friday’s game in San Diego late after severely straining his calf while coming out of the batter’s box on a grounder in the ninth inning and had to be carried off the field.

Kevin Smith was the preferred replacement for Berti on the active roster. To get Smith into the MLB, they needed to clear a position on the 40-man roster, which they did by transferring DJ LeMahieu to the 60-day injured list.

Interestingly, LeMahieu is anticipated to return soon, and having missed all of 2024 at this point, the change to the 60-day disabled list has no effect on postponing his return. It’s amazing they made it this far without requiring that open slot on the 40-man. He’ll be able to return on Tuesday in Anaheim, so assuming nothing occurs in his last rehab appearance, he should rejoin at that time, with Smith most likely DFA’d. Berti appears to have helped maintain Jahmai Jones on the active roster despite his little playing time.

Smith was struggling in Triple-A, with a slugging percentage below.300, so the Yankees will likely aim to limit his exposure until LeMahieu is ready to play. And Berti wasn’t exactly lighting it up, though he did have a hit in his last three games before going on the DL. Look for Oswaldo Cabrera to man the hot corner in the last two matches at Petco Park.

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