Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.

Chamberlain was placed on the DL on Aug. 6 with right rotator cuff tendinitis. He left his start Aug. 4 against Texas with shoulder soreness.

The right-hander will work out of the bullpen the rest of the regular season. He went 4-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 32 games, including 12 starts, before getting hurt.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said it was possible that Chamberlain could start next season as a reliever. Chamberlain opened the 2008 season as the setup for Mariano Rivera before moving into the rotation.

“We had an innings limit this year that he won’t meet, so could he exceed that innings limit next year? We wouldn’t want to do that,” Cashman said before the Yankees played Tampa Bay. “We’ll talk about that, obviously, at a more appropriate time. We have to protect the player.”

Chamberlain plans to offer his input after the season about 2009.