Rockies place trade candidate Jason Giambi on disabled list - MLB

UPDATE: If any deal is going to happen, it will have to wait until August. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rockies have placed Jason Giambi on the disabled list with a left quadriceps strain.

7:00 PM: Jason Giambi didn’t feel any better Tuesday after injuring his left quad running out a grounder Monday and is expected to be placed on the disabled list, the Denver Post’s Troy Renck reports.

It’s awful timing for Giambi, who appeared set to be dealt to a contender before the deadline. The Phillies were thought to be interested in him as a pinch-hitter, and one of several AL contenders, such as the Rangers, Angels or Indians, could have had a bigger role for him.

Giambi, who has hit .264/.357/.625 with 10 homers and 24 RBI in 96 at-bats for the Rockies this season, could conceivably be traded in a waiver deal next month, but it seems unlikely that anyone will want to pick him up now and wait for him to get healthy.

The Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain that will sideline the left-hander for at least two starts.

The move is retroactive to Monday and Cortes will be shut down for at least 15 days.

After Tuesday’s game, Cortes said the shoulder has been bothering him between starts and more so after he pitched five innings May 30 in Seattle.

“I took two days off and when I got to LA and threw that first day, I didn’t feel right,” Cortes said Tuesday. “But it was first day coming back from pitching so I knew it was going to be nagging a little bit. So I waited a little bit.

“That second day in LA was when I said something because it felt like I had pitched yesterday. So I wasn’t recovering in time.”

Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.

Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.

Randy Vásquez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to take Cortes’ spot in the rotation and will make his second career start in Thursday’s doubleheader. Vásquez made his major league debut May 26 against San Diego when the Yankees needed a starter because Domingo Germán was serving a 10-game suspension for using sticky substances.