CLEVELAND -- The Yankees' clubhouse seemed a little more lively on Saturday morning, as Shelley Duncan rejoined the team following a three-week stint at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

With three left-handed starting pitchers looming for the rest of the weekend at Cleveland, the Yankees -- as expected -- moved to add the right-handed Duncan to their roster, farming out lefty Billy Traber in a corresponding roster move.

Duncan, 28, was caught up in a numbers crunch earlier in the month when he was sent out on April 9, when the Yankees needed to call up an infielder to replace the ailing Derek Jeter. The boisterous rookie made the most of his time at Triple-A, hitting .309 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 15 games.

"Those guys down there are so amazing, the coaching staff and the players," Duncan said. "The whole team has tons of big league experience. You feel like you're part of the Triple-A All-Star team, so when you get thrown in that group, it was a lot of fun -- it really was. I really felt like I was part of the team that played Bugs Bunny all the time."

Duncan gave the Yankees a spark last season as a late callup, hitting .257 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 34 games. He had just five at-bats this year with New York, but jumped right back into the lineup as the Yankees' right fielder on Saturday.

"It's great to see him back," Girardi said. "He has the ability to provide a spark, a high energy guy. ... You love players who are high energy. I think our club has a great energy on a daily basis, but Shelley will just boost it up a little more."

Duncan said that he was not sure how long he was going to stay at Triple-A when the Yankees originally made the move, recalling infielder Alberto Gonzalez.

Duncan said he was told he might return in as little as two games, but as the days turned into weeks, he kept in contact with hitting coach Kevin Long to try and remain connected to what the Yankees were doing.

"I felt happy I got to go down there and get a lot of at-bats," Duncan said. "I had a chance to do a lot of things."