Brian Cashman says Yankees “are talking to Raul Ibanez”

General manager Brian Cashman said yesterday that the Yankees “are taking to Raul Ibanez” about returning to New York.

Ibanez came up huge in the postseason, but had a modest regular season performance at age 40, hitting .240 with 19 homers and a .761 OPS in a platoon role that shielded him from tough left-handed pitchers.

Ibanez hasn’t topped an .800 OPS since 2009, but if the Yankees are looking to pinch pennies he’ll certainly be cheap to re-sign.

That would also mean that the Yankees’ four outfielders and designated hitters–Ibanez, Curtis Granderson, Ichiro Suzuki, Brett Gardner–were all left-handed hitters, so not surprisingly George King of the New York Post speculates that Cashman is pursuing various right-handed-hitting outfielders to pair with them.

Earlier this week the Yankees were linked to Vernon Wells of the Angels and I supposed someone can technically be a right-handed hitter even if they’ve ceased hitting years ago.

Red Sox southpaw Chris Sale is headed back to the 10-day disabled list, per an official announcement on Saturday. It appears Sale is still suffering from a bout of shoulder inflammation and will require a longer recovery period than initially expected. He was activated from the DL just last Sunday and pitched one start against the Orioles, after which the Red Sox had some concerns about sending him out for another start against the Rays this weekend. Though the team has not named a replacement starter for Sunday’s series finale, MLB.com’s Ian Browne speculates that Rick Porcello could get the nod in Sale’s place.

Sale, 29, looked sharp during his first outing off the disabled list, fanning 12 of 16 batters across five innings of one-hit ball and paving the way for Boston’s 4-1 win against Baltimore. It’s not clear exactly what aggravated the lefty’s condition this time around, nor how long the club expects to be without him, but the move is retroactive to Wednesday and it’s possible that he’ll be ready to handle another start by next Saturday, when the Red Sox are scheduled for a rematch against the Rays in Tampa Bay. Sale has posted exceptional numbers when healthy, decorating his seventh consecutive All-Star campaign with a 12-4 record in 23 starts and an NL-best 1.97 ERA, 2.0 BB/9 and league-best 13.5 SO/9 through 146 innings.

In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever Brandon Workman was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. This will be the 30-year-old’s third stint in the majors this season. He’s looked even steadier at the major-league level than he did in Triple-A, with a cumulative 2.59 ERA, 2.6 BB/9 and 8.9 SO/9 through his first 24 1/3 innings in 2018.