AL East Notes: Yankees, Johan, Red Sox

While the Yankees have had “at least” internal discussions regarding Kendrys Morales, his bat wouldn’t solve all of the problems with the team, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Bombers’ bullpen has faltered of late and doesn’t have room for error given the lackluster offense, he opines. Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira’s wrist offers no certainty, even if he did homer last night. Davidoff notes that Teixeira looked “tentative” from both sides during batting practice and “fiddled” with his surgically repaired right wrist while others took their cuts.

More notes from the AL East…

• The Orioles could be looking at a six-man rotation when Johan Santana is ready to join the club, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. As the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo A. Encina notes, the plan for Santana, who was placed on the 15-day DL after his contract was purchased on Monday, is to make one more start in extended Spring Training before heading on a rehab assignment. After two starts, the former ace would be on track to join the team on June 20. Said Showalter: “I’ve been hinting at going to six starters anyway. It’s easy to solve. It’s not a problem. Any time there’s good pitchers available, I’m in, especially with his pedigree.”
• The Red Sox continue to search high and low for an outfielder, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, who points out that the Sox are on pace to field their least-productive outfield group of the 162-game era. Cafardo runs down a list of some names that might potentially be available as the summer wears on, and he also reports that the Phillies have had three scouts following the Sox for their past five series.