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The New York Yankees activated center fielder Kenny Lofton from the 15-day disabled list before Sunday afternoon's game against the Kansas City Royals.
Lofton had been on the DL since April 18 due to a strained right quadriceps. He made three rehab starts with Class A Tampa and Class AA Trenton and went 2-for-11 with one RBI.
Signed by the Yankees in the offseason to a two-year, $6.2 million contract, Lofton is batting just .167 (4-for-24) and was hitless in 10 at-bats before going on the DL.
In 2003 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, Lofton batted .296 with
12 home runs and 46 RBI with 30 stolen bases in 140 games.
The Yankees optioned outfielder Bubba Crosby to Class AAA Columbus to make room on the roster for Lofton.
The moves continued a busy weekend for the Yankees, who on Saturday activated pitcher Jon Lieber, placed first baseman Travis Lee on the DL, purchased the contract of infielder Homer Bush from Columbus and optioned pitcher Alex Graman to Columbus.
Rickey Henderson, regarded by many as the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, is back in the independent league.
The 45-year-old outfielder signed Sunday with the Atlantic League's Newark Bears.
Henderson is the all-time leader in runs, stolen bases and walks and hopes a strong performance with the non-affiliated independent league team will again make him more attractive to major league executives.
Last year, Henderson used his stint with the Bears to sign with the Los Angeles
Dodgers on July 14. He batted .339 with eight home runs, 15 doubles, two triples,
nine stolen bases and 33 RBI with Newark
In 30 games with the Dodgers in 2003, Henderson hit .208 (15-for-72) with seven runs scored, one double, two home runs and five RBI.
"I'm thrilled to be returning to Newark for the upcoming season," he said. "I will always appreciate that they allowed me to showcase my skills last season, giving me the chance to return to the majors with the Dodgers."
The 1990 American League Most Valuable Player, Henderson stole a major league record 130 bases for the Oakland Athletics in 1982 and joined the 3,000-hit club with the San Diego Padres in October 2001.
After breaking in with the A's in 1979, Henderson has played for nine teams, including four stints with Oakland, tenures with both New York teams and stops in Toronto, Anaheim, Seattle and Boston, as well as San Diego and Los Angeles.
A career .279 hitter, Henderson has appeared in 3,081 games. He has appeared in three World Series, winning titles with Oakland in 1989 and Toronto in 1993. In addition, he has scored 2,295 runs, stole 1,406 bases and walked 2,190 times.
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