Alex Rodriguez Aiming for Mid-August Return
By Editorial Staff
The Yankees have announced that they are hoping to get Alex Rodriguez back by the middle of August. New York’s general manager Brian Cashman shared the news with ESPN’s Baseball Tonight crew Sunday.
Rodriguez has been out since June 7th while dealing with knee problems. After sitting out for a few games, the 35 year old underwent an MRI which revealed a tear in Rodriguez’s meniscus. It was determined that ultimately surgery would be required, but Rodriguez had to decide if he wanted to continue playing with injury or elect to go under the knife.
The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery, and Rodriguez has been rehabbing since. At the time of the procedure the Yankees estimated they would be without their third baseman for 4 to 6 weeks and he is right on track to fulfill that original timeline.
"“He’s in a pool. He’s on a bike. (He’s) still got a little bit of a limp, which is normal. But I’d be looking at him (returning) maybe the second week of August, you know, at the earliest for me,” Cashman said. “That’s just us being conservative. I think we can push it and get him back sooner but, why? Our offense is strong.”"
New York’s offense that Cashman refers to is currently one of the best in the league. I would agree that there’s no reason for the Yankees to rush the rehab process, but instead allow plenty of time for Rodriguez to come back at full strength.
When you look at Rodriguez’s numbers, you wouldn’t think they were those of a guy playing on a bum knee for most of the season. Before hitting the disabled list, Rodriguez posted an OPS of .852 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI’s.
Rodriguez’s power dropped off over the 7 games he played in July, but the 3 time MVP was still able to register a slugging percentage of .570 in June.
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