Astros Put Pettitte on Disabled List

The Houston Astros put left-hander Andy Pettitte, who has a strained left elbow, on the 15-day disabled list Saturday.

Pettitte, signed to a three-year, $31.5-million free-agent contract in December after spending nine years with the New York Yankees, injured the elbow while trying to check his swing during an at-bat in his first start for the Astros on Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants.

An MRI exam on Thursday revealed inflammation in the elbow and a strained tendon, according to the Astros. The move was made retroactive to Tuesday.

Pettitte, who gave up six runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings in the 7-5 loss to the Giants, was scheduled to start Monday at St. Louis.

Jared Fernandez, a right-handed knuckleballer, will replace him, although Astro Manager Jimy Williams would not commit to keeping him in the rotation beyond that.

Pettitte’s last stint on the disabled list was from April 21 to June 14, 2002, when he was out with left elbow tendinitis.

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Oakland A’s second baseman Mark Ellis will sit out the season because of a right shoulder injury that requires surgery.

Ellis, who has been rehabilitating in Phoenix, was in the Bay Area on Saturday to meet with team doctor Jerrald Goldman about the latest MRI exam on the shoulderEllis initially was expected to be sidelined about two months after he dislocated his shoulder in a collision with shortstop Bobby Crosby during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs on March 25.

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The Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed outfielder Bubba Trammell to a minor league contract. He will report to triple-A Durham in time for its home opener on Wednesday. He was released by the Dodgers on March 31.

Devil Ray Manager Lou Piniella said an immediate return to the majors for Trammell, who played for Tampa Bay from 1998 to 2000, is not in the team’s current plans.

Trammell signed with the Dodgers in January and hoped to return to the major leagues after leaving the New York Yankees last summer because of depression.