George King III of the New York Post passes along word that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could be cleared to begin playing in minor league rehab games as early as Friday.
Rodriguez has been sidelined since early July with a torn meniscus in his right knee and is still recovering from the surgical procedure that was required to correct it. But he’s made good progress and has managed to avoid setbacks to this point.
A-Rod ran backward and side-to-side on Saturday at the Yankees’ spring training complex, also taking grounders and participating in live batting practice. He will up the intensity of his workouts with each passing day this week before having a checkup with a knee specialist on Wednesday or Thursday. If everything looks healthy, the probably week-long minor league rehab assignment can officially begin.
Rodriguez, 35, was batting .295/.366/.485 with 13 homers and 52 RBI in 344 plate appearances before the injury. There’s not expected to be any fallout from reports of his participation in high-stakes poker games.