Alex Rodriguez unlikely to return until at least Sunday

Alex Rodriguez had a successful workout before tonight’s game against the Twins, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com that he is “leaning against” activating him from the disabled list tomorrow.

Instead, they could wait until Sunday’s series finale against the Twins or even Tuesday, when they return home to play the Athletics.

“He felt much better today than he did yesterday,” Girardi said. “We felt he definitely wasn’t ready to play yesterday and that’s why we wanted to go through today. And he knew he wasn’t ready yesterday. But he felt a lot better about today’s workout. I think it’s important to see how he feels later, because today was more intense than yesterday, and see how he recovers. As far as activating him tomorrow, I don’t know.”

Rodriguez, who is making his way back from knee surgery, said today’s workout was “very encouraging” and that he is “definitely not counting this weekend out.” The veteran third baseman is scheduled to work out again tomorrow before being reevaluated.

Of course, the Yankees can afford to be extra cautious here since they are virtually assured of a playoff spot. Imagine if they were playing in games that actually meant something?