INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Needing to get from New Jersey to Manhattan for rehabilitation of his elbow following surgery, CC Sabathia had to deal with the minimum of three passengers per car imposed on some bridges following Superstorm Sandy.
"He had to go in with two people in his car so he could get in to see the therapist," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday.
Yankees trainer Steve Donahue drove with a buddy to meet Sabathia, and they rode with the left-hander into the city.
Sabathia had surgery on Oct. 25 to remove a bone spur from the elbow. Inflammation had sidelined him from Aug. 9-23. The restrictions on some Hudson and East River crossings were imposed to lessen traffic following the storm, which shut down mass transit for much of last week.
While Cashman was traveling from New Jersey to the Palm Springs area, via San Francisco, the Yankees made two successful waiver claims, obtaining right-hander David Herndon from the Toronto Blue Jays and lefty Josh Spence from the San Diego Padres.
"Adding inventory," Cashman said. "These are players that can contribute at the major league level or have a chance potentially to do that over time."
The 27-year-old Herndon was claimed by Toronto from Philadelphia on Oct. 23. The Blue Jays then designated him for assignment Oct. 31. Herndon made five appearances for the Phillies this season before having elbow ligament-replacement surgery in June.
He is 2-8 with one save and a 3.85 ERA in 97 major league appearances.
Spence, 24, made 11 relief appearances over two stints with San Diego this year. He went 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA.
A native of Australia, Spence is 0-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 51 games for the Padres. A lefty specialist, he made 40 appearances in 2011 but pitched just 29 2-3 innings.
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