The Yankees placed reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort on Wednesday, a day after he allowed his fifth homer since the All-Star break. Cruz is 4-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 61 appearances this season and has a 5.52 ERA in 17 outings since the break. The team also signed Michael Fulmer to a major league contract, added him to the active roster, and recalled Elmer Rodríguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Additionally, New York optioned Bradley Hanner to Triple-A and transferred Kervin Castro to the 60-day injured list. Boone said the Yankees acted on trainer concerns before imaging results for Cruz. Fulmer, 33, previously won AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 with Detroit and has undergone Tommy John and right elbow surgery.

Rodríguez is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in his career but 8-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 19 Triple-A starts this season. Castro is being evaluated for possible surgery after right elbow neuritis.