NEW YORK -- Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch probably won't return to New York's lineup until September.

	Knoblauch

Knoblauch, out since Aug. 3 because of tendinitis in his right elbow, is feeling better but still can't throw without pain.

"He still feels it," manager Joe Torre said before the Yankees played the Texas Rangers. "I don't know what the next step is."

Stottlemyre enjoying brief return to Yankees dugout

NEW YORK -- Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre returned from cancer treatment to join the Yankees on Tuesday, but probably won't finish the season with the team. "I feel good or I wouldn't be here today. I'm here with the doctor's blessings," said Stottlemyre, who left the team two weeks ago to undergo the first step of a stem-cell transplant to treat his multiple myeloma. Stottlemyre, who came back once during his absence to watch pupil David Cone pitch, plans to stay with the team through the upcoming road trip to Oakland and Seattle. But he expects to miss more time when the treatment is concluded. "I don't think I'll make it through the season," he said. "The quicker I get it done, the quicker I can recover afterward." Former pitching coach Billy Connors, a vice president and director of player personnel for the team, will travel with the Yankees for the rest of the season to help Stottlemyre. "Billy will stay with us and fill in whenever Mel can't do it," manager Joe Torre said. "It will just help with continuity." -- Associated Press

Tests have shown no structural damage in the arm, and Torre speculated that Knoblauch, who is rehabbing at the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., might be able to play through the pain or with a cortisone shot.

The Yankees likely will want Knoblauch to go on a minor league rehabilitation assignment to regain his timing at the plate and won't recall him until after active rosters expand to 40 on Sept. 1.

"He's still eligible for the postseason, so I don't think it is necessarily important for him to be back before then unless he is 100 percent," Torre said.

The Yankees want Knoblauch to be able to play the field when he returns, despite his 15 errors and well-chronicled throwing problems. With Glenallen Hill and Jose Canseco now on the team, there is little playing time available at designated hitter.

"He's an outstanding hitter and a good leadoff man," Torre said of Knoblauch. "Depending on the matchups, he could DH at times. Average-wise, he's the best hitter of the DHs. But obviously he doesn't pack the same wallop as the other guys do."

Knoblauch is hitting .291 with five homers and 60 runs scored.