Joe Girardi believes he will have Robinson Cano for tonight’s game against the Rays.
“He is a little sore and a little stiff,’’ Girardi said of Cano, who was hit on the left forearm in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 7-0 win Tuesday night and was replaced at second base by Jayson Nix at the start of the top of the eighth. X-rays were negative.
“I think he will be a player [Wednesday night],’’ the Yankees manager said.
Cano, who had the arm in a compression wrap to reduce swelling, downplayed the drilling by Cesar Ramos.
“I knew it wasn’t serious because I would have felt it right away,’’ said Cano, who went 2-for-3 and said there was a little bit of pain in the arm. “I didn’t want to be stupid, winning 7-0.’’
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David Robertson said he is without pain in his left rib cage. Neverthless, the right-handed reliever is also without a date to appear in a minor league rehab outing.
Robertson joined the Yankees last night and will throw bullpen sessions in front of pitching coach Larry Rothschild with the hope of going on a rehab assignment soon. Robertson threw a 35-pitch bullpen before Tuesday night’s game.
Out since May 11, Robertson estimated he would be off the disabled list in “a week to 10 days.” But first, a rehab assignment awaits.
“We will take it a day at a time,’’ Girardi said. “He will have [Wednesday] off and another session [tomorrow]. If that goes well, maybe we can get him in a game after that.’’
Whenever Robertson returns, it will be to the eighth-inning role he worked before Mariano Rivera suffering a knee injury on May 5.
“We are probably going to put Robby in some situations in the eighth inning when he comes back and go from there,’’ said Girardi, who has watched Rafael Soriano go 7-for-7 in save chances since Rivera went down. “We feel they are interchangeable. Let’s get Robby back and see how he is throwing the baseball.’’
Robertson has no preference when he pitches, he just wants to work.
“As long as we win games,’’ Robertson said.
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Brett Gardner got five at-bats in an extended spring training game in Florida and according to Girardi, “everything went well.’’
With extended spring about to end and Gardner scheduled only for batting practice today, the Yankees might have to find a minor league team to send him to for additional at-bats.
Gardner hasn’t played since April 17 because of a strained right elbow. He had to stop a minor league rehab assignment on May 10 when the discomfort returned while swinging a bat. Asked if Gardner could rejoin the lineup this weekend against the Mets in a three-game Subway Series at the Stadium, Girardi didn’t sound confident.
“I don’t know. We aren’t going to play him [today] and then we will probably play him a few days in a row and see how he does,’’ Girardi said. “It’s possible [the weekend], but we will have to see how he does.’’
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Derek Jeter (1,698,777) was second among AL All-Star vote-getters to Josh Hamilton (2,587,991). The initial round of ballots was released Tuesday.
Curtis Granderson was second among outfielders and Cano and Mark Teixeira were second at second and first base, respectively. Alex Rodriguez was fourth among third basemen.
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Girardi hasn’t received anything more than the standard letter from MLB notifying him he was fined for being ejected Saturday night in Detroit.
Further discipline for the hat-throwing tirade against umpire Bob Davidson would come via a conversation with Joe Torre.
Girardi saw Torre at Yogi Berra’s rained-out golf tournament Monday in New Jersey. They talked, but according to Girardi the incident with Davidson did not come up.
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The Yankees went without an error, keeping their total at 20, the lowest in the majors. In the past 13 games, the Yankees have made one error, a fielding miscue by right fielder Nick Swisher.
Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in Manhattan is closing but Tuesday an exhibit titled “Mickey Mantle: The Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hero’’ opened at the New York Yankees Museum.
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The Yankees hosted seven members of the USA Olympic freestyle wrestling team.
The Yankees face righty Alex Cobb tonight for the first time. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees are 23-9 across the past two seasons when opposed by a starting pitcher who faces them for the first time.