Derek Jeter arrived at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa after a workout at Steinbrenner Field yesterday with a familiar face in the passenger seat: Alex Rodriguez.
While the embattled Rodriguez came and went without speaking to reporters, Jeter insisted Rodriguez will not be a problem for the Yankees if he gets back to The Bronx despite all the issues swirling around the third baseman.
“Why would he be a distraction?” Jeter said. “[The media] may be a distraction to him because you ask him questions. I’ve never seen how someone could be a distraction to a team, because we don’t have to deal with it. I’m sure he gets tired of answering questions, but there’s no way he could be a distraction for us.”
Rodriguez has managed to be a three-ring circus again lately with little prodding from reporters.
Just in the past few days, Rodriguez angered team officials by having his representatives say he was starting rehab games Monday and then contradicting the team’s stance on his Twitter account.
That led to him being the subject of a profanity-laced criticism by general manager Brian Cashman — all while the subject of MLB’s investigation into his alleged involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. Even the normally hectic Yankees might have a hard time with all that.
“Why would I worry about that?” Jeter said. “Do you know how long I’ve been in New York?”
The Post reported Wednesday that Rodriguez told Yankees officials he is still having troubles with his surgically repaired hip and there may be scenarios in which he never returns.
For him actually to begin the clock on rehab games, the Yankees wanted to see Rodriguez clear a few more hurdles, including showing better lateral movement.
Still, sources say the 38-year-old could be sent on a rehab assignment as early as Monday and no later than the All-Star break — assuming no setbacks — and the hope is for him to get 50-70 at-bats, which will take 10 days to two weeks. That would, again assuming no setbacks, put Rodriguez back with the Yankees in late July.
“We were sort of on different schedules, so for a while he was on a different field, but he looks good,” said Jeter, who was asked if he believed Rodriguez could still be a productive player.
“Of course,” Jeter said. “Alex works extremely hard. He’s working hard now to get back. You can ask him. He’ll be out here in a minute.”
And he was, but he let the captain do his talking for him. So, for example, Rodriguez did not address the theory the Yankees do not want him to return to the field because they would receive 80 percent of his $28 million 2013 contract — about $22.4 million — if he were to not play this year.
But sources say that is incorrect. The way the Yankees’ policy works is they only get 80 percent if Rodriguez retires because of an injury and never plays again. For this season, the insurance is for roughly $7 million to $9 million, and they get a piece of that for any games missed this year because of his hip ailment.
Thus, it hardly makes sense for a multi-billion-dollar corporation to try to slow Rodriguez down from returning. In fact, it could be argued the Yankees want to get Rodriguez on the field as quickly as possible so he can break down, never play again and they could recoup 80 percent of what remains on his deal, which at this moment is roughly $100 million for the next 4 1/2 seasons.
Jeter, for one, wasn’t buying the idea that Rodriguez is finished.
“What does that mean?” Jeter said. “He’s here. You can ask him. I don’t see why he’s looking to retire when you look at how hard he’s playing.”
joel.sherman@nypost.com