Alex Rodriguez has been cleared by the Yankees to resume game activities, and will begin a rehab assignment with the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs on Tuesday. According to the Yankees, Rodriguez will play a "minimum" of three innings in the contest, in his first on-field step towards a major-league return this season.
Alex Rodriguez injury: Yankees’ 3B starts rehab assignment Tuesday
And this came from the Yankees, too, so Brian Cashman can’t even yell about it.


Rodriguez has missed all of 2013 recovering from hip surgery, but hit .272/.353/.430 in 2012 despite a broken hand caused by a hit by pitch. While that might not sound as productive as the A-Rod of old, Yankees’ third basemen have combined to hit .231/.293/.315 this season: even Rodriguez as a shadow of his former self would be an upgrade for a club desperate for anything out of the hot corner, one that currently sits in fourth place in the American League East.
Even if Rodriguez is forced to fill-in as the designated hitter most of the time, New York has only received a 689 OPS out of that lineup slot -- he should help wherever he ends up. So long as he makes it back healthy, anyway: That’s the question now, one that will be answered little by little over the coming weeks.












