NEW YORK -- As Jaret Wright walked off the mound at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, the Yankees' list of problems in the 2005 season got a little longer.

Tanyon Sturtze and Ruben Sierra are already on the disabled list, Kevin Brown has been hit hard in the early innings of his two starts, the offense is struggling with runners in scoring position, Randy Johnson has been tagged for 16 runs in his last three starts and the bullpen has battled inconsistency all year.

Saturday, Wright felt pain in his pitching shoulder -- the one which has been operated on twice since 2000 -- during his start against Texas. After the game, the Yankees placed the 29-year-old right-hander on the 15-day DL and scheduled him for an MRI exam on Monday in New York.

"I kind of felt it in the second and it gradually got worse. It got pretty bad in the sixth," Wright said. "I'll try to stay positive until we do the tests, but after what I've been through, it's definitely not where I want to be."

"He has a sore shoulder. That's as much as we know now," said manager Joe Torre. "He said he felt a little tightness warming up, but not what he felt later on in the game."

Wright was roughed up for six runs in 5 1/3 innings, allowing a career-high 11 hits for a second straight start. He said the pain, which he described as "sharp," was similar to what he felt in 2001 while pitching for Cleveland. He had surgery that September to remove unhealthy tissue and part of the clavicle in the A/C joint.

"We'll wait until Monday. That's when we'll probably know," Wright said. "We'll try to get the pain out of there, try to get it to stop hurting and let it calm down so we can get a clear picture of it on Monday."

"I feel terrible for him," said Bernie Williams. "As big a competitor as he is, he's got to be very frustrated. Going through injuries before, I can relate."

After speaking with team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon, general manager Brian Cashman made the decision to place Wright on the DL. The pitcher didn't have any objection to the move, though he was clearly upset by the events of the day.

"I'm still just dealing with what happened," Wright said. "That's fine. If you asked me now, I couldn't make my next start."

"It's obviously a concern," Cashman said. "Dr. Hershon told me it's clear that it's a definite 15-day DL at the very least. We'll do the exam to see to what extent that pain is."

   Jaret Wright  /   P
Born: 12/29/75
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 230 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
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Wright's 2001 surgery was his second in two years, having had his labrum and rotator cuff repaired in 2000. He said he hasn't had any problems with his shoulder all season, making Saturday's developments very discouraging.

"I've pitched through a lot of stuff, and you're not always going to feel good," Wright said. "I understand that. What I felt in the sixth, it was definitely pain."

"Pitchers are very fragile. We'll just keep our fingers crossed," said Torre. "The thing working for him is that he's a young man. If he was seven or eight years older, we'd be a little more down about it. Hopefully, whatever it is will get better."

The Yankees will call up right-hander Colter Bean, a reliever, for Sunday's game. Bean, who is 1-0 in seven games with Triple-A Columbus this season, hasn't allowed a run in 8 1/3 innings. He has given up just two hits and one walk, striking out 14 batters.

"He's been pitching the best right now," Cashman said, "so that's the guy we'll be looking to."

Bean will likely stay with New York until Saturday, when Wright's spot in the rotation falls. At that point, the team will probably call on right-hander Chien Ming Wang, who is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA for Columbus.