If Mark Teixeira’s right wrist doesn’t show signs of improvement Tuesday, the Yankees’ degree of worry will increase.
“If he’s still struggling [Tuesday] I’ll be more concerned,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of the switch-hitting first baseman, who left Saturday’s game with discomfort caused by inflammation in the wrist that underwent surgery last year and forced him to miss three games last week.
Teixeira returned Friday night, drew three walks, came out of Saturday’s game after two at-bats and received a cortisone injection. “We’ve been reassured by his doctor who did the surgery that this will go away.’’
Saturday, Teixeira said he would like to rest the wrist and play Tuesday. Girardi couldn’t guess if that will be the case.
“His doctor gave him pretty good news and I know Tex feels better,’’ Girardi said. “We’ll will give him the opportunity to come in [Tuesday] and see how he thinks and how he feels. I can’t say definite he will play or he won’t play, it’s too early.’’
When Teixeira missed three games in St. Louis last week, general manager Brian Cashman said he wasn’t in the market for a first baseman such as free agent Kendrys Morales, because he didn’t believe Teixeira’s situation to be long-term.
How Teixeira feels Tuesday could support that belief or make the Yankees rethink the situation, because Kelly Johnson is playing out of position at first base and not hitting.
The plan for reliever Shawn Kelley includes a simulated game Wednesday, and if that goes well, a minor league rehab stint. Kelley has been out since May 7 with a strained lumbar spine.
“The reason we would do a sim game is that it is more controlled,’’ Girardi said.
The injury bug hasn’t been limited to the big league club. Eric Jagielo, the Yankees’ No. 1 pick last year, hasn’t played for Class-A Tampa since May 20 and is expected to be out for another two weeks.
In 42 games, the third baseman from Notre Dame is hitting .256 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs and a .839 OPS.
Asked if Dellin Betances’ outstanding first two months can be compared to Mariano Rivera’s magical 1996 campaign, Girardi didn’t run away from the suggestion but also mentioned the differences.
“You look at the numbers and they are fairly comparable,’’ said Girardi, the starting catcher on the 1996 Yankees. “If I’m not mistaken, Mo threw 100 innings. He was a guy we could use for multiple innings. He was extremely effective, just like Dellin. I understand the comparisons, but obviously they are different. They are both power pitchers and Dellin has a curveball as well.’’
Rivera appeared in 61 games for the 1996 world champions. In 107 ²/₃ innings, he fanned 130.
A little bit past the one-third pole, Betances has 23 appearances. So, he could match Rivera’s total in appearances and with 32 ²/₃ innings could match or come close to the all-time closer’s frames.
Betances has 56 strikeouts and fanned five of the six Twins he faced Sunday when he worked two innings.
The .983 fielding percentage the Yankees took into Monday night’s game was the lowest since they finished the 2003 season with a .981 percentage which tied them for 11th in among AL teams.
“We have some guys in a sense maybe playing a little bit out of position, Girardi said. “We have two guys [Yangervis Solarte and Kelly Johnson] who have played mostly at second, playing third and first most of the time.
It’s different but I think we are better defensively than we have shown. We have made some errors the last seven or eight games to put us in that position and we need to clean that up.’’
Derek Jeter continues to lead shortstops in the AL All-Star Game balloting with 1,007,968 votes. Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox is next at 867,156.
With 605,941 votes, Brian McCann is second to Baltimore’s Matt Wieters’ 842,775. Jacoby Ellsbury and Beltran were fourth and fifth, respectively, among outfielders where the first three were Mike Trout, Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera.