Third baseman Alex Rodriguez joined his injured Yankees brethren at a rehab facility in Tampa, Florida as the 37-year-old works his way back from off-season hip surgery. MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports that Rodriguez ran, played catch, and hit off a tee, great news for Yankees fans who have seen their team decimated -- but not slowed down -- by a slew of injuries to key players.
The Yankees are hoping Rodriguez is able to return in the second-half, but he wasn’t willing to set a date.He wouldn’t even say for certain that he’ll be back on the field this season.
“I really hope so. That’s as specific as I’ll get,” Rodriguez said. “But I’m working 24/7 to get back on the field. There’s no surprise: The way the season ended last year was very embarrassing. It was very tough on me, and obviously, [for] our team, it was devastating, the sweep against Detroit.
“I have a lot of unfinished business. I’m looking forward to getting back and helping my team win.”Over the last two seasons, Rodriguez has played in fewer than 70 percent of his team’s games, posting an .801 OPS in 957 trips to the plate. The right-hander, who had logged 700 or more plate appearances in five of seven seasons prior to 2008, has failed to cross the 600-PA plateau even once since then. He has 647 career home runs, leaving him 13 shy of Willie Mays in fourth place on the all-time leaderboard.