CHICAGO — After watching Alex Rodriguez decline last year and have a second hip surgery in January, the Yankees understood what they had was an above-average third baseman and weren’t delusional to believe Rodriguez could recapture his MVP mojo.
Now, after missing the first four months of the season and becoming the face of the Biogenesis PED scandal, Rodriguez is back.
So, does the club still believe he is an above-average third baseman?
“I don’t know,’’ general manager Brian Cashman admitted before Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, where Rodriguez went 1-for-2, walked and got hit by a pitch. “He has been above average at the position, but not the MVP player for a while. I know he will be better than what we have.’’
Manager Joe Girardi used Rodriguez as the DH against hard-throwing lefty Chris Sale last night, but it had nothing to do with wanting to give Rodriguez a half workload in his second game back.
“We had a long game [Monday] and I chose to DH him [Tuesday night]. I will probably put him back at third [tonight],’’ Girardi said. “I didn’t even ask him, but he said he felt good.’’
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Because he has five outfielders for three spots Girardi has choices besides Rodriguez in the DH spot.
“I would like to play him at third more than DH him,’’ Girardi said.
As for the crowd cheering when Rodriguez got plunked by Chris Sale, Girardi was perplexed.
“There is something wrong with that and it starts with adults,’’ Girardi said. “If it was their kid, would they cheer them to get hit.’’
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Derek Jeter and Girardi spoke at a team meeting following Monday night’s 8-1 loss. The message dealt with not accepting losing. It didn’t help last night.
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Tests Tuesday discovered David Phelps has a new strain in the right forearm and he has been shut down for a couple of weeks, according to Girardi.
Cashman said Phelps’ season could be over.
“Due to the time frame, we might not get him back,’’ he said.
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Michael Pineda was examined Tuesday and was found to have tightness in the right shoulder but nothing structurally wrong.
“The tests were good and the strength is good,’’ Girardi said. “He has been shut down for seven days.’’
The Yankees were hopeful that by managing Pineda’s innings he could reach the big leagues this year, but that is now in question.
“I don’t know. [The testing] appears to have gone as well as expected. That doesn’t mean anybody’s out of the woods. It means he’ll be shut down for 7-10 days. What’s best for him and therefore for us is for him to finish the year healthy. He had a pristine rehab and that’s not usual. Usually you have some kind of hiccups and we just hit that one even though he was activated and off the DL,’’ Cashman said. “So my biggest goal is to have him finish the season healthy, so we can have him in our mind next year a player we can count on. We’re not out of the woods. Until he’s actually out there in the white pinstripes doing it every five days consistently where you can forget about the shoulder and we’re not going to be there yet. But I don’t know if you’ll see him this year or not. The doctors told me you can see him this year. Will we see him? I don’t know. Is that’s what’s best? I don’t know that either.”
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Robinson Cano not running full tilt out of the batter’s box cost him in the first inning Monday night when he was called out on a close play at second base in what would have easily been a double if he ran with more effort.
“It’s important to run hard. I was watching the ball so I didn’t see it,’’ Girardi said. “Any time you hit a ball like that [short left field,] I think you have to bust it because it’s possibly a double.’’
Asked if he has spoken to Cano about not running hard, Girardi said, “If [I did,] I probably wouldn’t tell you.’’
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Suspended Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli will undergo a non-operative treatment on his right elbow following a visit to Dr. James Andrews. Cervelli, who was on the DL with a fractured right hand, was diagnosed with a stress reaction in the elbow in early July. Cervelli was suspended for 50 games Monday for his involvement with Biogenesis.
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The Yankees are 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position in the past two games.