Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been on the disabled list for more than a month after getting hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch, but now he's on his way back.
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New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could rejoin the Yankees on Monday according to his manager Joe Girardi. Rodriguez has spent the last two days on a rehab assignment with the Yankees' Class A affiliate in Tampa. Rodriguez worked out on the side Sunday rather than playing in Tampa's season finale against Lakeland.
Rodriguez is 0-7 with a walk in two games at Tampa. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts on Saturday but played third base and is healthy according to Girardi.
"I think it's important to get him back, because it does a lot of different things to our lineup," Girardi said. "He's a presence in our lineup. We've had to stack lefties a lot. When you see Tampa, they have a lot of lefties in their bullpen you have to deal with, so I think it does a lot to our lineup."
The Yankees could use Rodriguez bat back in the lineup as they are 18-17 since he suffered the fractured hand on July 24. Unfortunately for the team the injury came just as Rodriguez was playing well. He had hit .333 with two homers in the previous 10 games before suffering the injury.
Soon, though, he could be back in New York’s lineup. Dan Martin:
Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to DH Friday night for Single-A Tampa as he continues his rehab from a fractured left hand, according to general manager Brian Cashman and the third baseman could rejoin the Yankees next week against the Rays.
“That’s what we’re talking about,” Cashman said. “We always knew he was going to come back. This is just the next step in the process. When he does come back, we want him to be ready, so we’re not going to rush him.”
Rosters can expand Saturday and the minor-league season ends Monday, so A-Rod wouldn’t have any further minor-league game action after that. He’s played just 94 major-league games this year due to various maladies and is having the worst year of his career, perhaps not surprising, as he’s 37.
However, the Yankees, who were 59-39 and eight games ahead in the AL East at the time of his injury, are just 16-16 since. It’s not all A-Rod’s absence, of course, but they will welcome him back when he’s ready.
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch Tuesday night in Seattle, and he’ll miss a big chunk of the rest of the season. Lou DiPietro:
Alex Rodriguez will likely be out for six-to-eight weeks with a broken fifth metacarpal in his left hand, and the Yankees have recalled infielder Ramiro Pena from Triple-A to replace him on the roster.
DiPietro goes on to list players already on the Yankees roster who will likely fill in for A-Rod, including Pena, Jayson Nix and Eric Chavez.
However, Buster Olney thinks the Yankees might be exploring the trade market:
The Yankees will be considering all 3B options, including Chase Headley, who’d make sense for them on a lot of levels.
Headley would make sense for the Yankees; the only question is whether the Padres actually want to trade Headley and whether the Yankees have the pieces to get him.
If A-Rod does miss eight weeks, he wouldn’t be back until the last week of the regular season, so the Yankees do need a sub for more than just the short term.
