TAMPA — Alex Rodriguez will start a rehab assignment Tuesday with Class-A Charleston and at long last, the third baseman and the Yankees appear to be in agreement on something.
Rodriguez was cleared Monday and after another conference call, the Yankees made the announcement, meaning the 38-year-old is finally ready to take the field again and is scheduled to play a minimum of three innings.
“I’m actually very excited,” Rodriguez said as he drove out of the Yankees’ minor league complex. “It will be the first game I’ve played in maybe over eight months. It’s been a long time. And it will be great to suit up again. Its gets me one step closer to helping my team win in New York.’’
The announcement came a week after Rodriguez helped spark another controversy, when he said on his Twitter account that he had been cleared to play in games by the surgeon who performed his second hip surgery, Dr. Bryan Kelly.
GM Brian Cashman erupted at the news and told the third baseman to “shut the f— up. When the Yankees want to announce something, [we will].”
That finally happened Monday.
Rodriguez said he did not need another visit to a doctor after speaking on a conference call.
“No, but we’ve talked to all our doctors and everyone’s approved it,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been in communication for a little while. The plan was to chat again as a team, collectively, today and we’re just ready to go.”
But the closer he gets back to The Bronx, the brighter the spotlight will be on the embattled Rodriguez, who is still involved in MLB’s investigation into the Biogenesis PED scandal. Rodriguez’s name was reportedly found in the now-defunct clinic’s records, but he has denied any association with it.
For now, he’s focused on playing in his first games since last year’s playoff disaster, when he was pinch-hit for and benched.
“It’s all very positive,” Rodriguez said of his recent conversations with the Yankees. “We’re all looking in the same direction: to get back to New York as soon as possible.”
That road begins Tuesday at 7:05, when Charleston hosts Rome.
“We’re working with scheduling,” Rodriguez said of why he’s heading to Charleston. “There’s rain all over the East Coast and we’re just trying to run away from the weather.”
He figures to also have stops with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton before eventually making it back to the Yankees.