ST. LOUIS -- Brandon Lyon has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow injury while the Pirates and the Boston Red Sox are in talks to amend a trade that sent pitchers Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Gonzalez to Boston.
General Manager Dave Littlefield said yesterday that with Lyon unable to join the team, Nashville's Duaner Sanchez would be called up to join the team today.
Lyon remained in Pittsburgh yesterday while the Pirates were on the road for a series against the Cardinals. He failed to receive medical clearance to pitch because diagnostic tests done during a physical Wednesday revealed ligament damage in his right elbow. An MRI showed a fraying of the ulnar collateral ligament, which could result in a major injury if Lyon pitched with the condition.
The Pirates and Red Sox have exchanged medical reports regarding Lyon, and Littlefield has been in touch with Boston General Manager Theo Epstein. Littlefield hoped to have a solution by the end of the weekend, but he would not give specifics about it.
"We're going to talk through some issues this weekend to try to resolve it in a way that is satisfactory to both clubs. As you can imagine, there's a multitude of possibilities," Littlefield said.
Epstein told the Hartford Courant that it's unlikely that Sauerbeck and Gonzalez will be sent back to the Pirates. But he said that it is possible that the Red Sox might send the Pirates another player to compensate for Lyon's condition.
"There's not a legal obligation, but depending on what's shown, if we feel there's something that needs to be done to treat Pittsburgh fairly, we'll do it," he said. "There may be an ethical obligation depending on what the facts show. But Brandon Lyon was a healthy pitcher with us, otherwise we wouldn't have traded him."
The commissioner's office or a third party are not involved in the talks.
Lyon and reliever Anastacio Martinez, who pitched an inning Thursday night for Class AA Altoona, were sent to the Pirates for Sauerbeck and Gonzalez, a minor-leaguer. Lyon pitched two innings Sunday for the Red Sox in his most recent appearance.
The Pirates had planned to use Lyon in the late innings and even as a closer in Manager Lloyd McClendon's closer-by-matchup approach since Mike Williams was dealt this week.
Lyon was successful in his first nine save situations but had blown saves June 28 against the Marlins and July 3 at Tampa Bay. He was scored upon in five consecutive games from June 28 to July 5.
Pirates put Lyon on DL 
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