SEATTLE -- Chuck Knoblauch's sore elbow might sideline him for the remainder of the season.

	Knoblauch

"Our plan has to be that we're not going to have him," New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said before Wednesday night's game against Seattle. "To start counting on him isn't healthy for me. There's been no improvement in his elbow."

The Yankees second baseman has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 because of tendinitis in his right elbow.

Torre expected to see Knoblauch on Friday night, or soon thereafter, when the Yankees return home to play Minnesota.

Now, he's not sure.

"That's a question I can't answer," he said.

Knoblauch is in Tampa, Fla., on a rehabilitation assignment. He started at second base for Tampa in Kissimmee, Fla., on Friday night but was hit by a pitch in his left knee and was taken out of the game as a precaution. A magnetic resonance imaging test showed his knee was fine.

His elbow is not.

"He doesn't feel well enough to play," Torre said. "His elbow is bothering him. I feel bad for Chuck. I was hoping we'd get some at bats for him, but I don't know if that's going to happen."

Knoblauch has played in 78 games this season. He's hitting .291 with five home runs, 22 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He's committed 15 errors.

Without Knoblauch, the Yankees can play Luis Sojo or Jose Vizcaino at second. Sojo has hit safely in 17 of 19 games since joining New York. He was acquired Aug. 7 from Pittsburgh. Vizcaino came to the Yankees June 21 in a trade with Los Angeles.

Sojo was in the lineup at second base Wednesday night for the third time in the Mariners series.

Torre said it wasn't the right time to see where Knoblauch was by giving him at-bats for the Yankees, who are trying to win the AL East title against Boston.

"We're not going to be able to test people in a pennant race," Torre said.

Right fielder Paul O'Neill was back in the Yankees' lineup Wednesday night after missing six games in a row because of a right hip pointer. He was removed from a game against Texas last Wednesday night as a precaution because of a sore right hip.

"It feels better every day," O'Neill said before taking batting practice. "It's a lot better today."

"He said he was ready to go," Torre said.

Left fielder David Justice was in the lineup Wednesday night after being taken out of Tuesday night's game, a 5-3 loss to the Mariners, for a pinch-runner in the seventh inning. He has a tender groin.

"It's nothing he can't play with, but it affects the way he moves around," Torre said. "It's something he plays in spite of."