Major League Baseball

Yankees DH Johnson to have surgery

Published May. 17, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson will have surgery on his right wrist, the most serious of a rash of injuries that have plagued New York and forced Manager Joe Girardi to get creative with his lineups.

Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher also were out of Monday night's game against the Boston Red Sox.

"The only thing you can do as a manager is play the parts you got,'' Girardi said.

New York did get one player back. Right-handed reliever Chan Ho Park was activated after spending a month on the disabled list because of a right hamstring strain. Righty Ivan Nova was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

Johnson was placed on the 15-day DL May 8, a day after leaving a game in Boston with a sore wrist. He returned to New York for tests and was given a cortisone shot.

The injury is in the same wrist that was operated on in June 2008 and ended his season. He also was forced to miss all of 2000 with a strain in the wrist. He said he had three shots in the wrist before last season and there were no problems.

Johnson sat at his locker, rubbing his already shaved right forearm. He had his head bowed and gave halting answers to questions that have become all too familiar in his career.

On the DL for the 10th time since 2000, this injury will prevent him from swinging a bat until four to six weeks after the operation, which could happen as soon as Tuesday.

"It's frustrating,'' Johnson said. "Just get it fixed and be able to swing pain free and go from there.''

The Yankees signed Johnson in the offseason for his ability to get on base and to take over for Johnny Damon in the No. 2 spot. General manager Brian Cashman said Saturday, when it was still not known if Johnson would need surgery, that he knew it was a risk signing Johnson.

Johnson was hitting .167 with just eight RBIs, but had a .388 on-base percentage because of 24 walks.

"I'll rotate the DH a little more now, but him having surgery doesn't really change anything for me,'' Girardi said.

Posada was out because he was hit with a foul tip on his right foot during Sunday's loss to the Twins and has a knot. Posada also has missed several games with a right calf injury.

"Georgie's right side has had a really tough year,'' Girardi said. "He was X-rayed. There were no broken bones but he's sore. So Georgie can't play today.''

Swisher has a left biceps injury that is preventing him from swinging from the left side. The switch-hitter initially felt a pull in the arm several weeks ago and aggravated it last week in Detroit. He played Saturday when left-hander Francisco Liriano started for the Twins, but sat out Sunday.

Swisher was feeling much better Monday and will take left-handed swings Tuesday before determining when he will play again, but he is hopeful he will be back in the lineup against Boston that night with hard-throwing right-hander Josh Beckett on the mound.

"When you have a short-term injury you're playing short,'' Girardi said. "Those are the ones that are trickier to deal with.''

Center fielder Curtis Granderson (groin) has been on the DL since May 2 and even Alex Rodriguez missed a game with cramping in his right leg.

Francisco Cervelli, who was hitting .393 in 56 at-bats with two triples and 14 RBIs entering Monday's game, started at catcher and batted sixth for the first time; he had not been slotted higher than eighth all year.

Both Randy Winn and Marcus Thames were in the makeshift lineup against the AL East rival and Rodriguez was the designated hitter. Ramiro Pena started at third.

Despite playing without key components to the roster, the Yankees are 24-13 and trail only Tampa Bay for best record in the big leagues.

"The injuries we had to deal with, it seems we find a way to get another (win) somehow,'' Girardi said.

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