TORONTO — Alex Rodriguez’s bat has gone cold at the worst possible time for the Yankees. Rodriguez’s dual leg injuries have kept him from playing in the field over the Yankees’ last eight games, including Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays, and they could be impacting his performance at the plate as well.
Rodriguez is hitting just .080 (2-for-25) with one homer, two RBIs and seven walks in 32 plate appearances since he felt tightness in his left hamstring in Baltimore on Sept. 10. He also suffered a tight right calf that forced him to make an early exit from Sunday’s 9-2 loss to the Red Sox.
The injuries have clearly affected Rodriguez’s ability to run the bases, as evidenced by his labors in getting from first to third last weekend in Boston.
Under normal circumstances, a 38-year-old with two leg injuries and just nine months removed from hip surgery would be a candidate for the disabled list, or at the very least be given a day off to clear his head or to heal. With the Yankees in the heat of a pennant race, however, Rodriguez doesn’t have a game to spare.
The veteran slugger was again in the designated hitter spot on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Manager Joe Girardi didn’t seem optimistic about the possibility of Rodriguez returning to third base anytime soon, only saying he would “like to get him out there” in the field.
“We’ll go day-by-day and I’ll check with him every day or every other day,” Girardi said.
Girardi didn’t think Rodriguez’s injuries were necessarily responsible for his slump. The manager noted Rodriguez’s performance in Wednesday’s 4-3 win (0-for-4 with a walk) included a few well-hit fly balls.
“I thought … he looked better. He really squared up some balls, he just hit them too hot,” Girardi said. “He had the barrel to them, hitting balls deep to right-center. I haven’t seen a whole lot , he’s just going through a thing right now.”
When Rodriguez returned after over four months on the disabled list and amidst a storm of controversy due to his appeal of a PED suspension, he surprised many by hitting close to his old form. Rodriguez hit five homers, scored 16 runs and batted .294 over his first 125 plate appearances of 2013.