TAMPA — Francisco Cervelli was behind the plate for Alex Rodriguez’s at-bats in a simulated game Friday, giving him a good vantage point to judge the third baseman.
“He looked the same as always,” said Cervelli, who caught in a simulated game for the first time since he broke his right hand on April 26. “He wants to play more than everybody.”
Maybe Rodriguez looked the same as always to Cervelli, but he hardly seemed like the guy who was once the most feared hitter in the game as he faced Francis Joseph, a 19-year-old right-hander who pitches for the Yankees’ Gulf Coast League team at the team’s minor league complex.
But he also didn’t look like a veteran simply going through the motions during his two-hour workout on the field alongside Derek Jeter.
Manager Joe Girardi said both Rodriguez and Jeter are “getting closer to getting into games,” although he wouldn’t specify who would appear in a game first.
Rodriguez hit a few balls hard, including a well-struck ball that bounced to the wall in right-center. The 37-year-old, who was running the bases, went to second on that hit and then excitedly put his arms in the air.
He finished his workout with a sliding drill.
“I called the game like a real game,” said Cervelli, adding all of Rodriguez’s hits came on fastballs. “I don’t know if he is 100 percent running, but he looks good. That’s a question maybe he can answer for you.”
Perhaps, but we may never know, because Rodriguez stuck to his routine of not stopping to speak with reporters after his workout.
While Jeter also took some at-bats, he did not run the bases. He said he began taking at-bats Thursday, the same day he ran outside for the first time since re-injuring his left ankle.
Friday, he did his running inside.
“Everything’s good,” Jeter said.
Like Rodriguez, Cervelli could face a suspension stemming from MLB’s investigation into Biogenesis; both players’ names reportedly appeared in documents allegedly from the clinic. Unlike Rodriguez, Cervelli has admitted going to the clinic, although he said he didn’t take any performance-enhancing drugs. He declined further comment yesterday.
Cervelli did seem optimistic about his recovery, although he admitted he hoped he’d be further along by now.
“I thought it was supposed to be eight weeks, but we’re at nine weeks already because the finger was a tough break,” said Cervelli, who didn’t rule out playing in rehab games next week.
The only thing he has left to do is start throwing to bases and he wants to build up arm strength before that step.
Perhaps most importantly, he made a point of putting his right hand behind his back on every pitch. He left it unguarded when a foul ball hit it when he was catching in April.
“Now, I’m working on hiding my hand,” Cervelli said. “I don’t know if I have to put in my pocket, but I’ve got to have my hand — because I don’t need more injuries. I’m tired of this already.”
Chris Stewart took over as the starting catcher in Cervelli’s absence and his production has fallen off. Stewart’s backup, Austin Romine, has been largely dreadful.
— Additional reporting by
George A. King III in Baltimore