MOOSIC, Pa.- Alex Rodriguez was set to begin what he expects to be the final stage of his rehab Thursday when he played his first game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“I think we have one big obstacle and that’s this weekend,” Rodriguez said during a pregame press conference at PNC Field before the RailRiders faced Louisville. “That includes four games. After that’s over, we’ll huddle up with our medical staff, the front office, Joe [Girardi], our manager, and we’ll come up with the best decision and what’s the schedule. And that will come from them.”
Rodriguez has said repeatedly he’d be ready to play when his 20-day rehab assignment ends Monday and the Yankees are in Texas. GM Brian Cashman hasn’t been quite as certain, but the Yankees will have to figure what to do with the 37-year-old by Monday.
The threat of suspension still looms large over Rodriguez stemming from MLB’s investigation into the Biogenesis scandal, although no verdict appears to be imminent.
Rodriguez sidestepped the subject or whether he had any meetings lined up with either the league or the players’ association.
“I can’t comment on any of that stuff. I’ve said that over and over,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t comment. I can’t comment on any of that part. Thanks.”
And he conceded his hip will never be 100 percent.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get to the point where it’s pain-free,” Rodriguez said. “The process starts early in the morning and it ends hours after the game, that’s part of it. Pain-free? I don’t think, at 37, I’m going to be pain-free. But it feels pretty good.”
And he mentioned Bo Jackson’s inability to regain his form after the former two-sport star injured his hip as reason for concern.
“Anytime the hip comes up, it’s synonymous with Bo Jackson,” Rodriguez said. “I was a huge Bo Jackson fan and his run there seemed so simple and months later you’re reading that his career is over.”
Some might say Rodriguez is due a similar fate, but he would argue otherwise.
“I don’t know exactly what [Jackson’s] injury was, how extensive it was,” Rodriguez said. “It was also a different time. I can only speak about how I feel. I feel pretty good. And I like the improvements I’ve made over the past week. I think we’ve taken a nice, methodical approach to this thing and then on Sunday we’ll have a conversation with the front office and see where we go from there.”
Rodriguez had success after his initial surgery, but still has a long way to go now.
“This one was a lot tougher,” Rodriguez said. “The process was a lot more intense. And there’s dark moments for sure. There’s times where you’re like, ‘Man, am I ever going to make it back?’ But that’s where our medical staff and family and friends, a lot of good positive energy just gets you over the top.”
Still, that’s hardly a guarantee he will return to be a productive player.
When asked if he believed he could be the player he once was, Rodriguez was non-committal.
“That’s… I hope to go out and do the very best I can,” Rodriguez said.
But he did his best to sound optimistic with four days left until a move is made.
“You definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Rodriguez said. “You want to make sure you get passed this last obstacle and stay focused on one pitch at a time.”
Observers, though, continue to wait for tangible results.
“There’s still a long ways to go,” Rodriguez said. “You just want to keep building on that. I mean, if you can hit a ball or two every night where you feel good about it, you’re driving it. That’s a good sign.”