Chad Jennings

cjennings@lohud.com

The Yankees have lost some of their pitching depth.

Nick Rumbelow, the right-handed reliever who made 17 big league appearances last season, was put on the Triple-A disabled list and needs Tommy John surgery according to a team source. Rumbelow left yesterday's Triple-A game after going to the mound for the fifth inning. The RailRiders tweeted that Rumbelow was visited on the mound by the pitching coach and trainer before walking off the field.

After not making the big league roster in spring training, Rumbelow was actually slated to open this season as a Triple-A starter, sharing a rotation spot with lefty Tyler Webb. Rumbelow was used as a starter in minor league camp, and late this spring had been stretched out to three innings. Because of rain outs, Rumbelow's first scheduled start was pushed back, and he wound up making one relief appearance -- he pitched a scoreless inning before leaving yesterday's game -- before going on the disabled list.

Conor Mullee was called up from Double-A to take Rumbelow's spot on the roster. Tyler Cloyd moved into the rotation to fill his spot as a starter.

With the injury, the Yankees' pitching depth has taken a hit.

Despite not making the big league team out of camp, Rumbelow was one of the more highly touted upper-level relief prospects in the system, and his big league results a year ago were promising. After the Bryan Mitchell toe injury, this is the Yankees second significant health problem for a right-handed reliever. Nick Goody and Branden Pinder are the only right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster not currently in the big leagues.