New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who's missed the Yankees' last 30 games due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, could return to action as soon as Thursday, Aug. 18, when New York opens a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Manager Joe Girardi told the media he didn't think Rodriguez would be ready for the club's preceding series at the Kansas City Royals, but added, "I would say by Minnesota we would have him."
To prepare, Rodriguez will DH in a minor-league rehabilitation start on Friday, then will move to the field to play third base on Saturday. If he doesn't suffer any setbacks, he could indeed return by the following Thursday against the struggling Twins, who've won just twice in their last 10 games and stand 10 games behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
The Yankees haven't struggled in Rodriguez's absence, going 20-10 (.667) during this stretch without him, an improvement on their 51-35 (.593) record at the time of the injury. Though he ranks second on the team with a .295 batting average, Rodriguez is slugging just .485, which is well down from his career mark of .569 and stands as his worst mark since 1997.