Derek Jeter came back to The Bronx Saturday and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think the shortstop was fine.
He took grounders, moving to his left and his right, as well as batting practice.
“I feel good,” Jeter said in front of his locker. “Everything’s been going as good as it can go.”
That’s quite a change from earlier in the season, when the shortstop felt discomfort trying to rehab a fractured left ankle suffered during Game 1 of the ALCS last season. Doctors later discovered a new fracture that Jeter believes happened before he was scratched from a spring training game in Clearwater on March 19.
Still, Jeter- who turns 39 this week- won’t really know how he’s doing until he starts running and sprinting.
And he’s not sure when that will happen.
“I would assume the next couple of days,” said Jeter, who is scheduled to head back to Tampa after today’s game. “But that’s an assumption, so write down assumption. I don’t want to get in trouble… I would assume that’s the last step, considering I’ve done everything else.”
He hasn’t had any pain or soreness during this recent rehab and sees no reason why he would be limited offensively or defensively.
“It’s not a concern,” Jeter said. “If I don’t feel anything, then I’m not concerned any more so in one particular area.”
Joe Girardi was pleased to see how much Jeter was able to do.
“It’s a lot better than we were when you look back two weeks ago, four weeks ago,” Girardi said. “It’s nice that we get an opportunity to see him. And he’s anxious to be back, so this is good.”
While there’s no timetable for his return, Jeter is ready to get back.
“It’s tedious,” Jeter said of rehabbing. “It’s not fun. It’s a long process. I’ve been doing it since pretty much November or December.”
Which is why he decided to make the quick trip north.
“I wanted to come up,” Jeter said. “You’ve got to break it up. And I wanted to be around the team.”