CINCINNATI — Whenever Derek Jeter returns from the disabled list, Yankees manager Joe Girardi is going to move Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher out of the leadoff spot where they have thrived in his absence.
“He has been our leadoff guy,” Girardi said after last night’s Yankees-Reds game at Great American Ball Park was washed out. “We will see how he feels but, yeah.”
Last night’s game will be made up today as part of a split doubleheader.
Eligible to be activated June 29 at home against the Brewers, nobody is even guessing when the captain will return from a Grade 1 strained right calf injury suffered June 13.
“It’s too early,” general manager Brian Cashman said of forecasting a return date for Jeter, who is six hits away from 3,000. “I haven’t asked [the medical staff].”
Jeter worked out at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa yesterday. He played catch and long-tossed on the field, and worked out inside and received treatment.
It was a small step, but a positive one, according to Girardi.
“He worked out some, I knew he threw,” Girardi said of his shortstop, who will be 37 Sunday. “Derek is going in the right direction.”
Because of the nature of the injury, Jeter may have to play in a minor league rehab game before rejoining the Yankees.
“Play a game and see how he feels,” Girardi said. “What you don’t want to happen is for him to come back, play a game and need [time] off.”
Because it’s Jeter, there are voices on each side of the fence.
His fans scream Jeter is the captain with sure hands, experience and vital to the Yankees’ success despite landing on the DL with a .260 batting average and hitting a team-low .179 (12-for-67) with runners in scoring position. And Eduardo Nunez has made two fielding errors in the seven games as Jeter’s replacement.
Jeter’s detractors yell about the Yankees going 6-1 without him, Nunez hitting .320 (8-for-25) and the leadoff combination of Gardner and Swisher hitting .423 (11-for-26) with an ungodly on-base percentage of .559, compared to Jeter’s .324.
Girardi has little choice other than putting Jeter in the top spot when he comes back. Curtis Granderson has turned into an AL MVP candidate hitting second, so Jeter can’t be used there. Three, four and five are out. The sixth hole is more of a power/RBI spot, and Jeter has two homers, 12 extra-base hits and an OPS of .648.
When Jeter was hitting .219 on April 20, he was five games into being the leadoff hitter after starting the season in the two hole. Girardi didn’t think of dropping Jeter into the seventh, eighth or ninth spot then.
And he won’t now.
Of course, the manager doesn’t have to make that decision yet. And he may get more than the 15 days to do so. Giants outfielder Cody Ross missed the last 10 days of spring training and the first 16 games of the season with a calf problem. Jimmy Rollins was out from April 14-May 17 and May 22-June 22 a year ago with calf trouble. Aaron Boone said his calf injury in 2008 caused him to miss a month in 2008.
george.king@nypost.com