TAMPA – Alex Rodriguez again yesterday attempted to temper any talking of the possibility he tampered. On Tuesday, in a radio interview, Rodriguez said of his possibilities to be traded after the 2006 season, “I know I had a lot of options to go to several teams this year – probably five or six – and I chose not to.”
If Rodriguez or a member of his camp had sought that information independently of the Yankees, Rodriguez could have faced charges of tampering, since he remained under contract with the Yankees. However, when asked Tuesday by The Post about this, Rodriguez said, “I went through proper channels. Everything I know is through the Yankees.”
However, yesterday GM Brian Cashman said he never told Rodriguez which teams were interested in Rodriguez or the number of teams interested, and that no other member of the organization knew the full extent of interest. Cashman said all he did after the season was “was have a conversation with Alex to find out if he wanted to move on. I told him if you are not happy with the playing situation here we could work something out. He said he was not interested. I liked that answer. He had a no-trade clause, so I never pursued it further.”
When informed about Cashman’s response and the apparent discrepancy with his answers, Rodriguez said, “That’s right. They never said specific teams. It didn’t make a difference. I was going to say no.”
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Jeff Karstens continues to make a strong bid to be part of Joe Torre’s 12-man rotation. The 24-year-old right-hander blanked the Twins last night across four innings and allowed one hit after retiring the first 10 batters in a 4-1 victory.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong,” Torre said of Karstens, who hasn’t allowed a run in nine innings and just five hits. “He continues to impress us is the best way to explain it.”
Can Karstens muscle his way past Carl Pavano or Kei Igawa into the rotation? “It’s too early to make a decision,” Torre said. “There is too much time left. But it’s a nice problem to have.”
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The Yankees made three cuts prior to last night’s game, sending stud pitching prospect Phil Hughes out. Also reassigned to minor league camp where hurlers Ross Ohlendorf and Matt DeSalvo.
“You can’t come here and expect to get big league hitters out with two pitches,” said the 20-year-old Hughes, who was 0-0 with a 7.71 ERA. He gave up six hits in 42/3 innings. “Commanding a third pitch will be a key for me. You can only learn from these things.”
Hughes’ best pitch is a blistering fastball and is followed by a knee-locking curve. He is working on a change and brought a slider he hasn’t thrown in years. Asked if he expected to be in The Bronx at some point this season, Hughes deferred to the Yankees.
“I am not sure, but that’s not my decision to make,” said Hughes, who with the other two hurlers will open in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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Don Mattingly could return this weekend. Mattingly left the team Tuesday when his father passed away … Darryl Strawberry watched the game from behind he plate.