New York management and their star disagree again over his injury timetable.
Alex Rodriguez says he is ready to return to the lineup for the New York Yankees but the Major League Baseball club said he’s not in their plans yet.
Rodriguez, also under scrutiny in a doping investigation by Major League Baseball that has already led to Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun being suspended for the remainder of this season, sought a second opinion about his strained left thigh without telling the team.
“I think the Yanks and I crossed signals,” Rodriguez said.
“I don’t want any more mix ups. I’m excited and ready to play and help this team win a championship. I feel great and I’m ready and want to be in the lineup. Enough doctors, let’s play.”
But Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he had not spoken to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman about the third baseman’s status and said he would be surprised to have him in the lineup on Friday against Tampa Bay.
“I am sure they will go through all the proper rehab channels and we’ll move forward every day,” Girardi said.
In a Twitter posting, the Yankees said that while Rodriguez has shown improvement, he is not ready to return, although he may soon be able to participate in a rehabilitation game.
“Brian Cashman says @AROD’s quad has improved, the hope is he could have sim/rehab game 8/1 but he is not @MLB ready,” the Yankees tweeted.
Even if Rodriguez is cleared to play he may not get the chance. He has been linked to the Biogenesis clinic in Miami, which allegedly supplied performance-enhancing drugs to several players. Braun received a 65-game ban on Tuesday as a result of the probe.
