Astros catcher Brian McCann on DL with right knee soreness, returns to Houston

NEW YORK – Astros catcher Brian McCann, in a 1-for-26 slide that has dropped his batting average to .219, was put on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday because of right knee soreness and returned to Houston.

“Halfway or two-thirds through the game yesterday, he reported some knee soreness,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

“It’s something that he’s battled before, and it’s something that he’s had to deal with. And as we talked to him after the game and evaluated him, we felt like we needed to send him back to Houston to get evaluated further. We won’t know the extent of any sort of issue until he gets to Houston.”

Tim Federowicz’s contract was selected from Triple-A Fresno before Tuesday night’s game at the New York Yankees. Max Stassi was in the starting lineup and will see most of the time behind the plate while McCann is sidelined. The 27-year-old Stassi began the night batting .300 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 80 at-bats.

“I would say it’s just preparing your body a little bit more, maybe getting a little more sleep,” Stassi said. “It’s also nice, too, to catch consecutively. Your body kind of adapts.”

The 34-year-old McCann was a seven-time All-Star while with Atlanta from 2005-13.

Federowicz, 30, is a six-year big league veteran who spent last year with San Francisco. He was at spring training with the Astros this year and hit .337 with five homers and 18 RBIs in the Pacific Coast League.