Yankees 1B Teixeira goes on DL with right knee injury

BALTIMORE (AP) Mark Teixeira will have to wait at least 15 days to break out of a slump that's dropped his batting average to .180. The Yankees put the first

BALTIMORE (AP) Mark Teixeira will have to wait at least 15 days to break out of a slump that's dropped his batting average to .180.

The Yankees put the first baseman on the disabled list Saturday, a night after he injured his right knee in Baltimore's 6-5 win.

''It's a big loss,'' manager Joe Girardi said. ''I know his numbers aren't where we expect them to be, but at any point we felt that he would get hot and do his thing.''

It's been a tough season for Teixeira, who has three homers and 12 RBIs. He was mired in a 1-for-18 slump through Friday.

The injury was diagnosed as a right knee articular cartilage tear. In addition to the lingering knee problem - Teixeira said he was playing with it for weeks - he's also been hindered by a bulging disk in his neck.

''One, it's going to give my neck time to heal and calm down. That's been a really big issue this season,'' he said in the New York clubhouse. ''Two, it just kind of resets things. Hopefully it just resets my body, gets my strength back, get my confidence back. Every time I tried to push through something, my body wouldn't let me do it.''

Teixeira called the knee injury ''maddening'' and expressed hope of avoiding surgery.

''We're hoping that conservative treatment will help it, but we'll definitely have those conversations in the next few days when I get back to New York,'' Teixeira said.

Last year, he hit 31 homers, drove in 79 runs and earned a berth in the All-Star Game for the third time. But he also spent time on the disabled list with a broken leg.

''I look at how blessed I was the first 10 years. I played through a lot of stuff,'' the 36-year-old said. ''And right now, my body's not letting me do that. It's just frustrating, but you deal with it.''

The Yankees filled out the 25-man roster by selecting the contract of infielder Chris Parmelee from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Utilityman Dustin Ackley, who has a dislocated right shoulder, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.