Yankees Mark Teixeira not cleared to swing bat

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is looking to return on the first day of May from the partially torn tendon in his right wrist, but his return might be pushed back a little bit. Teixeira was hoping to be able to swing the bat yesterday and move on to the next step in the rehab process, but the Yankees MLB.com  blog reports that Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser (yes, that’s rosewater auf Deutsch) and the Yankees did not clear Tex to swing the bat.

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Even though this was only a minor setback, Teixeira’s goal to return at the beginning of May will likely not be fulfilled. He still has to swing the bat, work the glove, run the bases, and play a few rehab games. The Yankees are not going to rush Teixeira either, no matter how much they want a power bat back in the line-up.

For now, the Yanks will continue to roll with a mix of Kevin Youkilis and (gulp) Lyle Overbay in Tex’s absence, and his goal to return on the first of May has always been viewed as optimistic even before this minor delay. The doctors just want Teixeira to build up strength in his wrist for the next few days, and then he will likely be cleared to swing the bat.

“He wants me to get a little stronger before I swing, so the next couple days I’m just going to really ramp up the strengthening. Because we’re kind of going week to week with it, he wants to make sure it’s really strong enough before I swing,” Teixeira said.