TAMPA — The man who could hold the key to how potent the Yankees lineup will be faced live pitching Monday for the first time this spring.
And outside of it being a small step toward getting into a game, Mark Teixeira couldn’t take much away from facing right-hander Jose Campos and lefty Manny Banuelos because they didn’t exactly pound the strike zone.
“It was pretty uneventful, I only took three swings from each side,’’ the switch-hitting first baseman said following the morning session at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I wish I could have gotten a little more work, but we will get more work the next time I am out there. I only swung at one strike left-handed and maybe two right-handed. Obviously, I need more work.’’
Until Teixeira can let the swings go, he won’t really know whether he can trust the surgically repaired right wrist that limited him to 15 games last year.
“I really need to test out the wrist,’’ said Teixeira, who admitted he is more concerned hitting from the left side, where the right hand is on the bottom. “Number two is seeing the ball. I have to make sure I can really let it go and swing and miss.’’
Teixeira believes he has enough time to be ready for the Yankees’ April 1 opener in Houston.
Still, coming back from wrist surgery is a process that takes time, and one it will be closely watched. Until Monday, Teixeira was limited to batting practice thrown by staff members.
“In BP, I have been swinging hard. BP and game swings are totally different,’’ Teixeira said. “You have a guy throwing 90-plus. I didn’t get any inside pitches, which I was hoping for.’’
Teixeira said he will repeat Monday’s drill Tuesday and Wednesday and make his exhibition debut Thursday against the Phillies in Clearwater.
“I feel pretty good. I have been here over two weeks now, and the wrist is getting stronger. That’s the big thing, the wrist is getting stronger,’’ Teixeira said. “The bat speed is pretty good. We will keep building up, and hopefully on April 1 it will be really good.’’
Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran were imported to add juice to the lineup. Yet the Yankees need production from Teixeira in the middle of the lineup to have the type of firepower needed to make the revamped lineup complete.