Back tightness may land Holmes on IL

Clay Holmes could be going from struggling to unavailable.

The Yankees reliever has recently been dealing with a tight back, he revealed Tuesday night, and could be headed for the injured list. Manager Aaron Boone, said after a 3-1 loss to the Rays, that there potentially could be a roster move involving a pitcher to come, though the Yankees did not announce anything official Tuesday night.

Holmes, who has not pitched since blowing a save on Friday against the Red Sox, said his back “locked up” on him a few days ago.

“Tried to throw again today and it tightened back up,” Holmes said. “Just felt the smartest thing and best way to go about it was to try to maybe give it a break. Play it smart and not try to push through something that maybe it could be a lot worse than what it is now. … Hopefully this is just a short little thing and nip it in the bud real quick.”

If Holmes lands on the IL, Ron Marinaccio is a likely candidate to be called back up from Triple-A to take his spot in the bullpen.

After a dominant start to the season, during which he took over the closer role, Holmes has a 10.24 ERA with three blown saves over his last 11 games.

DJ LeMahieu missed a third straight game Tuesday due to inflammation in his

right big toe. While LeMahieu said he has been feeling better in the last few days, it remains to be seen whether that improvement will allow him to avoid the injured list.

Boone said that he was “hopeful for” LeMahieu to play Wednesday. Boone later said a decision regarding whether or not to put LeMahieu on the 10-day IL could come in the next day or two. With LeMahieu unavailable, the Yankees have been playing with a shorthanded, three-man bench.

“We’ll probably make that decision sometime [Wednesday or Thursday] of saying, ‘Yeah, it’s beneficial to take the now seven days or so,’ or, ‘We’re ready to go,’ ” Boone said. “I really don’t have a lean either way on it.”

The Yankees could backdate LeMahieu’s IL stint to Sunday, which would still knock him out through the Subway Series next Monday and Tuesday.

LeMahieu has been receiving treatment on the toe, taking medicine and getting orthotics for his right cleat. The toe issue affects LeMahieu’s swing when he rotates on his back foot, and he was in a 1-for-18 skid before hitting the bench Sunday.

When asked whether he was confident he could be back in the next few days or if he might need an IL stint, LeMahieu was noncommittal.

“It’s just day-to-day right now,” he said.

Giancarlo Stanton

(Achilles tendinitis) went through another full pregame workout on Tuesday, repeating what he did on Monday.

Boone said he expects Stanton, who last played on July 23, to go on a rehab assignment “in the next couple days.”

Reliever Miguel Castro (right shoulder strain) played catch in the outfield for a second straight day after being shut down from throwing for up to four weeks. The righthander has been on the shelf since July 16 and was recently transferred to the 60-day IL.