Yankees Ask Giambi About Going to Minors

Jason Giambi could be headed to the minor leagues if he doesn’t start hitting.

With Giambi’s batting average down to .195, New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre and General Manager Brian Cashman met with Giambi on Tuesday night. During the 30-minute meeting, they asked him whether he thought he would benefit from a minor league assignment.

“We touched on it,” Giambi said.

However, he said he thinks staying with the major league team is the best way to regain form. As a veteran player, he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent.

Torre said Giambi could be back in the lineup Friday when the Yankees begin a trip in Oakland.

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San Francisco put right-hander Jason Schmidt on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right shoulder. Schmidt, an 18-game winner last season, is 2-1 with a 4.71 earned-run average and hasn’t won since April 10 against Colorado.

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Sammy Sosa was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Baltimore Orioles after he failed to respond to treatment for a nagging foot injury.

The move was retroactive to May 5. Sosa has been hindered by an abscess and staph infection on the bottom of his left foot.

To replace Sosa on the roster, the Orioles recalled outfielder Keith Reed from triple-A Ottawa.

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Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell went on the disabled list for the first time in seven seasons, an ominous setback in his battle with a degenerative shoulder condition.

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Pittsburgh ace Oliver Perez will sit out his scheduled start today because of stiffness in his left shoulder.