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Baseball notes: Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka apologizes for being injured

Injured Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has apologized for “not being able to help during this time.” (Associated Press)
From Wire Reports

New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka accepts his elbow injury as “a challenge” and vows to return soon to help the team win.

Tanaka was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He is 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA.

Tanaka, who hopes to avoid surgery, issued a statement Friday that said, “I want to apologize to the Yankees organization, my teammates and our fans for not being able to help during this time.”

Lucroy to start at catcher for N.L.

Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy will replace injured St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina as the National League’s starter for Tuesday night’s All-Star game.

Arizona’s Miguel Montero will fill Molina’s roster spot.

With Molina out, the Cardinals claimed veteran catcher George Kottaras off waivers from Cleveland.

Yankees get Francis in trade with A’s

The Yankees acquired left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis from the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named and cash.

The 33-year-old Francis was claimed off waivers by the A’s from Cincinnati on May 18 and went 0-1 with his first career save and a 6.08 ERA in nine relief appearances with Oakland.

Clearing the bases

The Toronto Blue Jays placed first baseman Adam Lind on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right foot. The Blue Jays also designated right-hander Bobby Korecky for assignment. … Tampa Bay activated shortstop Yunel Escobar from the disabled list and placed reliever Jake McGee on the paternity list. … Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle. … The Royals activated outfielder Nori Aoki from the disabled list and optioned infielder Christian Colon to Triple-A Omaha. … The Cincinnati Reds put second baseman Brandon Phillips on the 15-day disabled list following surgery for a torn ligament in his left thumb that is expected to sideline him about six weeks. … … Prominent orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews has his own trading card. Andrews has operated on numerous sports stars and runs surgical centers in Birmingham and Florida. His card is one of the 350 included in Topps’ Allen & Ginter collection. A smiling Andrews is featured on the card wearing surgical scrubs.