Recap: Yankees 1, Astros 0

Nathan Eovaldi tossed eight shutout innings and the Yankees edged the Astros, 1-0, on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

Just What They Needed: With the team's bullpen gassed following Sunday's loss to the Indians, Eovaldi gave the Yankees eight frames of four-hit ball -- holding the Astros to 0-for-7 with RISP while walking three and striking out seven. Eovaldi stayed out of trouble for the most part on the evening, but when the visitors put men on base in the fifth and sixth, the righty saw to it they never passed third.

Walk-Off: The Yankees' bats were virtually nonexistent in eight innings against Scott Feldman, but their luck began to turn when Oliver Perez took the hill for the ninth. Perez -- a lefty with a 3.06 ERA -- walked three consecutive (one intentionally) to load the bases, and after he was removed for Chad Qualls, the Yankees won it on a sac fly by Carlos Beltran. 

Probably Should Have Scored There: The Yankees put runners on the corners with none out in the seventh, but failed to score when Greg Bird struck out and Chase Headley lined into an 8-2 double play. Headley, hitless in three at-bats on the evening, actually made good contact on the inning-ender, but his efforts ultimately went for naught after Carlos Gomez gunned down Brian McCann at the plate.

Probably Should Have Scored There, Too: Didi Gregorius and Stephen Drew -- of all people -- led-off the third with a pair of singles, but again, the Yankees couldn't capitalize on the threat. Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a fielder's choice, Brett Gardner fanned and Alex Rodriguez flied to shallow right, wasting an opportunity they usually won't get from the bottom of the lineup.

He's Baaack: Mark Teixeira was seen in the on-deck circle prior to Beltran's sac fly, apparently pinch-hitting for the 0-for-3 Bird. Teixeira obviously never got a chance in the batter's box, but this could be a sign that his health is improving.

Next Up: The Yankees and Astros continue this three-game series with another meeting on Tuesday, the Yanks starting Ivan Nova (5-5, 3.72 ERA) versus Houston's Dallas Keuchel (14-6, 2.37 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET, with YES and WFAN calling the action.

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/15

On this day in 2010 Derek Jeter was awarded first base after pretending to be hit by a pitch by the Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chad Qualls. Replays showed that the ball hit the knob of the bat but Jeter put on enough of an acting job to get on base in the eventual 4-3 Yankees loss.

Yankees Trade For Casey McGehee

Preliminary reports say the Yankees have shipped Chad Qualls to the Pirates for 3B Casey McGehee. The Pirates or even more surprisingly going to be adding cash in the deal to the Yankees.

From Bryan...

Casey is nothing to get excited about, as he currently has a triple-slash of .230/.297/.377 for the Pirates. If this were at least 2010 I'd be ecstatic, but at this point he'll be depth only.

But there is one thing to be excited about... the Yankees dealt Chad Qualls for McGehee. In Chad's 7.1 innings with the Yankees he's put up an ERA of 6.14 and a WHIP of 1.773. And with Joba returning soon anyway, chances are Qualls would have been released.

Chad Qualls Future In Our Bullpen

Hey Chad... do you hear those footsteps?

I think you may have sealed your fate for good in the Yankees bullpen this afternoon after giving up hit after hit after hit. I was on the guys side but enough is enough for Qualls. Joba cannot come back soon enough to lock down that bullpen. 

Who Is In... Who Is Out?

Today being another off day got me thinking just what the Yankees are going to do when all of their current disabled and DL'd players come back to action. The Yankees have quite an impressive list of players on the DL currently including Brett Gardner, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, David Aardsma, and some other guys that we do not expect to see this year. The 40 man roster is full... what do we do?

Let us start with Joba Chamberlain who just got off of an ankle surgery after a freak trampoline accident and a tommy john surgery. He threw his first rehab game pitching 1 IP with 2 K's and an unearned run. The most important part, to me, was the 97 mph. We have not seen that kind of velocity since he was a dominant set up man for Mariano Rivera. Who goes down when Joba makes it all the way back to the majors? If you ask me today, and I know I am going to shock some people, but I say DJ Mitchell will go back down to AAA Empire State Yankees. I know a lot of people think Chad Qualls was just keeping the seat warm for Joba but he has pitched very effectively in a ROOGY kind of position. I like his veteran leadership and I love matchups in the pen. That is why Rapada stays for me and keeps me two left handers in the bullpen. Do not get me wrong I love what I see out of DJ Mitchell but he is a young guy and has plenty of time to make the pen out of spring training next season.

Brett Gardner has played a total of nine games this season to the tune of 28 at bats. He has been battling an elbow injury and elbow setback after elbow setback. The Yankees really "need" his speed and presence in the lineup, if anything to get Raul Ibanez back on the bench where he belongs. We currently are carrying 6 outfielders because of the lack of need of a 5th starter right before and right after the All Star break. We will not have five when Gardner comes back, which is slated to be in late July. I expect that Darnell McDonald be cut and David Phelps to be called back up, now fully stretched out and dominating AA batters, to fill the starting spot for Andy Pettitte or long man spot for Freddy Garcia. DeWayne Wise has been a pleasant surprise for the Yankees this season and some even say that he may have turned the Yankees season around... but when Brett Gardner comes back he is going to be DFA'd.

I do not expect Mariano Rivera to pitch again this season after tearing his ACL shagging fly balls in the outfield. Even with a partial tear it will still be tough after sitting and waiting for about a month to get rid of a blood clot and reduce swelling before he even had surgery. Also the fact that it would be a September comeback anyway means the rosters would be expanded so we would not need to make a roster move. My question is what do we do, saying he comes back and is healthy and effective, come playoff time? I would have to think that Clay Rapada , as of today, would have to lose his roster spot and we keep Qualls, Joba, and co. This is probably all wishful thinking though.

If David Aardsma can get good news from his little set back and fully come back from tommy john surgery and be healthy then we have a cluster and a big "problem" in our bullpen. That means with Joba back, assuming anyway, that someone who is very effective would have to go down. I mean I guess we could push him back till September when the rosters expand but that is no fun to speculate about. Would a very effective and big surprise in Cody Eppley be sent down? This is certainly a good problem to have.

The Yankees do not really need to make any moves in this years July 31st trade deadline. The Yankees have an ace, a #2 starter, a dominant closer, a dominant (at times) set up relief pitcher, and an all star caliber speed demon of a left fielder coming off the DL soon in reserve. All the Yankees have to do is get healthy and they will add more to their team then any team will at this year's trading deadline.

Yankees Send RP Cory Wade To AAA

And the Chad Qualls trade makes a whole lot of sense now....

The Yankees announced today that they have sent down Yankees right handed reliever Cory Wade to AAA Empire State Yankees. The Yankees have also called up Chad Qualls to take his spot on the 25 man roster. Cory Wade has recently come back down to Earth so the move is somewhat justified, not that I necessarily agree with it. Not to mention his 56 pitch outing the other night had me worried also about a possible DL stint so we'll have to watch out for that.

Hopefully Chad Qualls can come in and give the Yankees some quality innings. Good luck Chad!

Yankees Acquire Phillies RP Chad Qualls

Chad Qualls, a few days after being designated for assignment (DFA), has been traded to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later (PTBNL) or cash considerations. The Yankees basically stole the guy who is a right handed reliever and closer type with tons of major league experience. He was not exactly tearing up the National League, do not get me wrong, so do not expect him to be the savior.

For those who care here are his stats for this season from fangraphs. It will be interesting to see who, if it is a player, we give back to the Phillies for Qualls.

The Yankees have designated Mike Antonelli, who they claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, for assignment to make room for Qualls on the 40 man roster.