Thames reportedly rejoins Yanks' system

Former Yankee Marcus Thames reportedly rejoined the organization Friday when he was signed to a minor- league deal after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers. Thames, 34, is expected to report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Thames hit .197 with two homers and seven RBIs for the Dodgers. He enjoyed more success with the 2010 Yankees, hitting .288 with 12 homers in 82 games while primarily serving as a DH.

Thames adds depth, but he also plays a similar role to Andruw Jones in terms of playing against lefthanded pitching. Thames hit .300 against lefties last year.

Chavez, Sori back soon

Joe Girardi said he expects infielder Eric Chavez and reliever Rafael Soriano to come off the 60-day disabled list and rejoin the team before the current 10-game homestand ends July 31. Both are working with Class A Tampa at the moment.

Chavez appeared in his first game in the field Thursday to test his fractured left foot. Asked what he needs to see from Chavez at a time when third baseman Alex Rodriguez is on the DL, Girardi said, "You have to get him through nine innings; you'd like to get him back-to-back games to know he could do that for you. Besides that, not a whole lot, just to see how the foot responds.

"It's one thing to DH, and then it's one thing to play the field and be on it all the time. How's that foot going to respond? As long as it responds and we can get him to play a couple days in a row, I don't see why we wouldn't consider him a player for us.''

The heat is on

The temperature for Saturday's 1:05 p.m. game is expected to be in the high 90s, so the Yankees said they will provide 11 "hydration stations'' around the Stadium.