Rodriguez ready for next step in recovery
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is set to resume baseball activities next week when he joins a cast of injured teammates at the team's training complex in Florida.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Rodriguez, who underwent left hip surgery in January, has begun running full speed and was cleared by Dr. Bryan Kelly, who performed the surgery, to begin the next phase of his recovery and rehab.
Rodriguez is excited about the prospect of getting back on the field.
"Just met with my surgeon Dr. Kelly in South Florida and got cleared to move to baseball activities in Tampa ... really excited to be getting closer to being back on the field," Rodriguez said on Facebook.
The three-time American League MVP winner is expected to be back with the Yankees sometime after the All-Star Game break in July.
"Every conversation we've had with the physical therapist is that he's exactly where he needs to be," Cashman said, according to MLB.com. "He's on time, he's working hard. I've never heard anything about he's ahead of schedule or ahead of time."
Rodriguez will join rehabbing outfielder Curtis Granderson, who is recovering from a fractured right forearm, and first baseman Mark Teixeira, who has a partially torn tendon sheath in his right wrist, in Florida.
"We're getting ready to hit the extended spring program with some championship-caliber rings here," Cashman said.
Rodriguez, 37, hit .272 with 18 homers and 57 RBI in 122 games for the Yankees last season.
