Ruben

Sierra

He batted .467 (7-15) with two homers and 11 RBI. This strong performance by Sierra surely will cost Kenny Lofton some at bats over the next few games.

Neither player deserves to sit on the bench. Sierra is hitting .320 as a Yankee, Garcia .349. But manager Joe Torre wants to get his original intended lineup on the field with Raul Mondesi in right field and Johnson at DH, even against lefties. AL-only leaguers shouldn’t drop Sierra or Garcia yet, but it’s advisable to see what you might get for them while their stats are strong.

The Orioles, just dying for someone to spend money on, reportedly offered Sierra a two-year, $3.2 million contract. Still, Sierra will stay put, assuming that he passes his physical.

Sierra (.247 avg., .371 slugging) hasn’t produced offensively. The Rangers need every bullpen arm they can find, and need to get Mark Teixeira some at-bats if they aren’t going to send him to the minors. If Sierra is released, he should be able to catch on with another team.

The injury is not considered serious, and Sierra insists he will be able to play tonight. Manager Joe Torre was not so sure. If Sierra sits this evening’s contest out, Kenny Lofton could find his way back into the starting lineup.

He will once again be limited to pinch-hitting duties while he rests a sore left hamstring.

Torre doesn’t believe Sierra will need to go on the DL, though he will miss a few days and may have to DH rather than play left field.

The Yankees have a trio of right fielders, and Sierra might be down to third on the list behind Karim Garcia, who has a 943 OPS against righthanders as a Yankee, and David Dellucci, who is better defensively.

He has been shut down completely with the injury, and thinks he’ll be out at least another two weeks.

He tried to run yesterday and aggravated the injury.