Mark Teixeira said his strained left lat muscle is slowly improving and he’s still hoping he can avoid a trip to the disabled list, though he’s unlikely to get back on the field this weekend.
The first baseman missed his fifth consecutive game on Friday, when the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-4 in The Bronx, and he still hasn’t picked up a bat.
“He ran [Friday] and did some slow rotation exercises,” manager Joe Girardi said, adding Teixeira has more steps to take before he can return to the lineup. “I don’t think [playing Sunday] is realistic because he’d have to take [batting practice] first.”
Though Teixeira said the discomfort is dissipating, he admitted he won’t know how healthy he is until he begins taking swings.
“I’ll take it easy the next few days and hopefully we progress to full swings soon,” Teixeira said.
He said he increased his treatment and did more “rotational” exercises Friday.
“I’d love to [return] in the next couple of days,” Teixeira said. “Let’s hope it goes well.”
Not surprisingly, Girardi was hesitant to look too far ahead.
“I’m glad he feels better,” Girardi said. “Obviously, he’s got to start doing some activity to see how he responds. Let’s take it day-by-day. … But the fact that he’s feeling like he wants to [play] is a real plus.”
One of the things the Yankees are attempting to avoid is putting Teixeira on the disabled list and then finding out he’s ready before the 15 days are up, but they can also ill-afford to continue playing a man short.
“I would hate to put him on the DL and he’s ready after seven days,” Girardi said. “I think you’ll know a lot more the next two days. … It depends on how he does and then we can make a decision.”
Teixeira was hitless in his first 12 at-bats coming out of the All-Star break before he sat on Monday.
Francisco Cervelli started his fifth consecutive game behind the plate on Friday and went 2-for-3. He’s 14-for-35 (.400) with six doubles in his last 10 starts, but he still hasn’t completely gotten over the effects of the broken right hand he suffered a year ago.
When gripping a bat, his right hand doesn’t completely close around it.
“I would love to close my hand and have a better grip,” Cervelli said. “Sometimes I get jammed and I really feel it more than I used to.”
He had made some adjustments to compensate.
“I hold the bat loose now,” Cervelli said. “I just react to the pitch and use [my left] hand more.”
The other key, of course, is to stay healthy. He missed two months with a strained right hamstring earlier this season and also has had concussion issues.
Girardi said he is happy to have him back.
“He allows you to do a lot,” Girardi said. “We’re in a situation where we don’t have a first baseman and can have [Brian McCann] there and leave [Cervelli] behind the plate without worrying about it.”