NEW YORK -- Rookie Yangervis Solarte, who was an early-season sensation for the New York Yankees, has been sent down to Triple-A Scranton, the team announced Thursday.
Solarte, a non-roster invitee, seemingly came out of nowhere during spring training to beat out Eduardo Nunez for the 25th spot on the team. He then won the third-base job over Kelly Johnson, hitting .299 with six homers and 29 RBIs over the first two months of the season when he was arguably the Yankees' best offensive player.
"As you can imagine, when you've fought so long to get there and get sent back down, it's difficult," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We made it known to him that, you were a big part of our success in the first two weeks, but you've been struggling. So go get back on track like you were when you came up to spring training."
Since June began, Solarte's hit just .162 in 22 games. He will be replaced by Zelous Wheeler, a right-handed hitting utility infielder who was hitting .299 at Triple-A.
The Yankees designated for assignment infielder Dean Anna to make room for Wheeler on the 40-man roster.
Information from ESPNNewYork.com contributor Andrew Krammer was used in this report.