Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters on Wednesday that veteran shortstop Derek Jeter could be ready to begin playing in minor league rehab games Saturday at Double-A Trenton.
Jeter fielded ground balls, took batting practice and ran the bases Wednesday morning in Tampa, reporting no issues with his once-strained right calf.
He’ll continue doing similar workouts through the end of this week and will fly out to Trenton on Friday if everything continues to go smoothly.
Jeter is sitting on 2,994 career major league hits and should be able to get back to his pursuit of 3,000 early next week. The Yanks begin a three-game series on Monday in Cleveland then return to New York on Friday for a lengthy homestand. Unless Jeter falls into a major slump upon returning, it seems likely that he will register hit No. 3,000 at Yankee Stadium.