Infielder Anna pitches in from the mound

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com | 4/20/2014 12:52 A.M. ET

ST. PETERSBURG -- Yankees infielder Dean Anna has spent the past few winters supplementing his income by pitching in with baseball clinics, so he is only a few months removed from tossing his last batting practice session.

Those offseason workouts came in handy on Saturday, when he pumped 17 pitches to the Rays, mopping up on the mound for the eighth inning of a 16-1 Tampa Bay rout.

Anna was told not to risk injuring his arm and just to focus on throwing strikes.

"When I do a lot of lessons back home, that's actually how I throw, just a nice little flick in there," Anna said. "It was pretty easy throwing strikes and stuff like that, but it's not fun when I'm out there."

Anna said that the last time he pitched in a game was probably for a summer league team, at around the age of 11, but he regularly serves as an instructor at Bo Jackson's training facility in Lockport, Ill.

Anna became the first Yankees position player to pitch in a game since Alberto Gonzalez threw a third of an inning in a 12-2 loss to the Mariners last May 15.

"It's not a great situation to be in as a manager, because you don't ever want to get a position player hurt," manager Joe Girardi said. "But I talked to him and I said, 'Look, I don't want to come out and yell at you if you're throwing too hard. I want you to lob it in there. That's all I want you to do. Just do not hurt your arm. Just play catch.' And he did a really good job of doing that."

Anna's first pitch to James Loney was clocked at 66 mph, and he maxed out at 72 in the inning, with a low of 55. Loney singled and Wil Myers doubled off Anna, who then retired Sean Rodriguez on a popout and got Logan Forsythe to line out to left.

Ryan Hanigan spoiled the party with a two-run single to left, and Anna escaped the inning by getting David DeJesus to pop out, extending DeJesus' slump to 26 at-bats.

"I thought I did all right," Anna said. "I thought I was going to hold them, but [Hanigan] got a base hit. It was fun, but not fun at all."

Daley takes Cabral's spot on roster

ST. PETERSBURG -- Matt Daley returned to the clubhouse of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Saturday just in time to glance at the television and see Cesar Cabral drill the Rays' Logan Forsythe in the back, earning an ejection from home-plate umpire Joe West.

Daley couldn't have known then that the hit-by-pitch would lead to him getting on a plane and suiting up again with the Yankees, but there he was in the visitors' clubhouse at Tropicana Field on Saturday, taking Cabral's spot on the big league roster.

"I think that everyone knows that when you come here, winning is the only thing, really," Daley said. "I know that they like [Cabral] a lot, they kept him around for a couple of years, and he's a great guy. That's the way baseball goes sometimes."

The Yankees signed Daley to a Major League contract and added him to the 25-man roster after Friday's game, designating Cabral for assignment. Daley went 1-1 with a save and a 5.40 ERA in four Triple-A appearances this season, striking out 13 in five innings with one walk.

"He competes really well. He has good command," manager Joe Girardi said. "He throws strikes. He attacks hitters. He threw well for us last September. He had a pretty good Spring Training for us, so that's why we went and got him."

Daley became the answer to a trivia question last September when he replaced Mariano Rivera after the all-time saves leader exited his final appearance. Daley attended camp this spring as a non-roster invitee, posting a 1.04 ERA with nine strikeouts in nine appearances, and was in the mix for a bullpen job almost until Opening Day.

"I think more than anything, September let me know that I could pitch in the big leagues again," Daley said. "I knew I could pitch in the Minor Leagues, so getting the success that I had last year, I think it made going into Spring Training this year and fighting for a job a lot easier."

Yanks get positive reports on Tex, D-Rob

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees have received positive reports on first baseman Mark Teixeira and closer David Robertson, both of whom participated in a Minor League game on Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

Teixeira went 2-for-4 with a walk and a double and played seven innings in the field, and expects to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday -- the first day that he is eligible. Teixeira strained his right hamstring on April 4 in Toronto.

"We feel that he's ready to go," manager Joe Girardi said. "We'll talk about it tonight. I want to talk to him when he gets here, see how he's feeling, and then we'll go from there."

Robertson threw 16 pitches in one inning and is eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday, when the Yankees open a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Girardi is not sure whom the Yankees will trim from the roster to make room for Teixeira. Infielders Scott Sizemore and Dean Anna both have Minor League options and are possibilities.

In addition, the Yankees had infielder Brendan Ryan take six simulated at-bats on Saturday in Tampa. Ryan had been scheduled to play in a Minor League game but was bumped to simulated action because of a tight hamstring.

"That's probably normal," Girardi said. "I think all guys probably go through it in Spring Training. We thought we'd be cautious and say, 'Just take your at-bats and don't run.'"

Sore Beltran returns to lineup as designated hitter

ST. PETERSBURG -- Carlos Beltran said that his sore left shoulder and right wrist are improving after Friday's tumble over a short wall in right field at Tropicana Field, and he returned to the lineup as the designated hitter on Saturday.

"A lot better," Beltran said. "Not 100 percent, but yesterday I went to the cage, hit a little bit during the game. I felt fine. Today I feel a lot better compared to how I felt yesterday."

Beltran flipped over the wall chasing Desmond Jennings' foul ball in the third inning of Thursday's 10-2 victory. He did not undergo any concussion tests, and he hopes to return to the outfield on Sunday, when the Yankees wrap up their four-game series with the Rays.

"We're extremely lucky," manager Joe Girardi said. "I wasn't sure if we'd have him this weekend with how hard he hit [the ground], but he bounced back quick."

Bombers bits

• Derek Jeter was not in the lineup on Saturday. Girardi did not want to play Jeter four straight games on artificial turf, and chose to rest him against right-hander Chris Archer with left-hander Cesar Ramos throwing for the Rays on Sunday. Dean Anna made the start at shortstop.

• David Phelps is sporting a bruise on his stomach after being hit by Ryan Hanigan's line drive in the seventh inning of Saturday's 11-5 loss, but he is available to pitch.

• On this date in 1949, the Yankees dedicated the third monument in team history to Babe Ruth, who passed away on Aug. 16 of the previous year. The Yankees won, 3-2, against Washington on Opening Day.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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