The New York Yankees called up prospect Juan Rivera on Wednesday. Manager Joe Torre named Rivera the starting right fielder immediately upon his promotion. Rivera spent Spring Training in major league camp but started the season in AAA.

When the Yankees promoted him from AAA, he was hitting .328 with a .355 OBP and .532 SLG in 186 AB on 61 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, and 6 HR with a 8:27 BB:K and 2/3 SB%. He batted ninth in his first game with the Yankees this season. Although he flew out in his first plate appearance, he hit a double in his second at-bat, advanced to third on a single by Alfonso Soriano, and was stranded there when the inning ended. He flew out a second time in his third at-bat. In his final plate appearance of that game, he walked and was stranded on first when the game ended. Yesterday's game was rained out so those are his only stats to date.

New York signed Rivera as a nondrafted free agent out of Venezuela in 1996. He played in the Dominican Summer League in 1996 and the Venezuelan Summer League in 1997. Then in 1998 the Yankees sent him to play for their Rookie level Gulf Coast League team promoting him to Oneonta in the A- New York-Pennsylvania League briefly before the end of the season. Rivera spent most of 1999 in the Florida State League at A+ Tampa aside from a short return to the GCL. New York promoted him to AA Norwich in 2000, though he returned for a time to the FSL. Last season he began the year at Norwich before moving up to AAA Columbus and then receiving a September call up to the majors.

Rivera showed less patience at the plate when he reached AA and should work on regaining some of that former strike zone judgment to maximize his offensive upside. He has a small amount of speed and displayed very promising power potential last season.

Now that they've brought him up, he should start in right field and will probably continue to hit ninth in the order for at least the next month. At that time, New York will likely evaluate how the experiment is working out. The Yankees will send him down rather than have him sit on the bench.

In order to make room for Rivera on the roster, the Yankees released Gerald Williams. With Shane Spencer and John Vander Wal previously covering right field, Williams saw very little playing time and didn't perform at the plate during his limited at-bats. In the 33 games in which Williams appeared, he had no hits in his 17 AB and a 2:4 BB:K.

Most of the Yankees' transactions this season have been changes to their pitching staff. Ted Lilly claimed the rotation spot opened by Andy Pettitte's injury in mid-April. Most recently New York has attempted to fill the hole opened by Orlando Hernandez's injury.

The Yankees placed Hernandez on the DL May 21st with a back strain. After a week of rest he began throwing again and his rehab continues to progress well. I don't expect New York to activate him without a rehab start, but he should be ready to make that start soon. Hernandez could rejoin the team in the next two weeks if he doesn't experience any setbacks.

After losing out to Lilly in the competition to replace Pettitte, Adrian Hernandez was sent down in early May when the Yankees activates Sterling Hitchcock from the disabled list. New York recalled Adrian to replace Orlando on the roster. However, his stay in the majors was short, as after making a relatively poor spot start he returned to AAA the next day when the Yankees called up Mike Thurman. In his 6 IP this season, Adrian's allowed 10 H and 2 HR with a 9:6 K:BB.

Hitchcock strained his back in Spring Training and then strained his groin while rehabbing on the DL. When he rejoined the team in mid-May he had the opportunity to oust Lilly from the rotation but didn't quite display the necessary aptitude. So far this season he's allowed 21 H and 3 HR in 15 IP with an 11:7 K:BB, though he's only started in one of his six appearances.

Before yesterday's rainout, the Yankees were debating on whether to use Hitchcock or Thurman in Orlando's rotation spot. In his two starts this season, Thurman's allowed 14 H in 11.1 IP with an 8:6 K:BB. I thought the 28-year-old had some potential last season with the Expos, but he fractured his thumb mid-season. Despite the injury, he managed to improve his dominance, which has been his primary skill deficit in the past.

Pettitte appears almost ready to rejoin the team. As long as he pitches and feels well in today's start, he should return to the Yankees for a start next week. He had his rehab start moved from yesterday to today due to weather conditions. As Ducky appears to be at least a week away, New York won't have to make any immediate decisions. Pettitte will take Orlando's rotation spot and Lilly will continue to start.

Once Orlando returns, New York will have to make tough decisions. While Lilly pitched very well in his first few starts, he's struggled a bit recently and another less than stellar performance will almost certainly lead to a return to the pen if all the other starters are healthy. For the season he's allowed 36 H and 7 HR in 54 IP with a 43:15 K:BB, but over his last three starts he's allowed 12 H and 3 HR in 16 IP with a 6:5 K:BB.

Unfortunately, Pettitte suffered a number of setbacks during his elbow rehab, and though he appears well enough to come off the DL now, he could very easily go down again before the end of the season. The Yankees' other starters have also demonstrated their fragility in the first few months of the season. Consequently even if he's sent to the pen when Orlando returns, Lilly will be called upon again as New York's sixth starter with the stipulation that if he puts two or three bad starts together in a row, he could easily lose his job again to Hitchcock or even Adrian or Thurman if they begin to tear up AAA.