TAMPA, Fla. — With 48 hours to go before his meeting with Major League Baseball about the ongoing Biogenesis scandal, Alex Rodriguez looks far from being ready to rejoin the Yankees.
The Post confirmed Rodriguez, one of the central figures in MLB's investigation into Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch, will speak with the league Friday in Tampa about the case. But Rodriguez was evasive about the meeting.
"Not that I know of, and if I knew, I couldn't share with you," Rodriguez said. "We've been fully instructed not to comment on that case."
Rodriguez was asked if the Yankees had spoken to him about it.
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Alex Rodriguez
0-for-3 with two strikeouts yesterday with High-A Tampa.
"I don't think they have any involvement," he said. "I think it's strictly Major League Baseball. There's a lot of players involved, too."
Rodriguez is right about that, as he and several other noteworthy players — including Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, Oakland's Bartolo Colon, Texas' Nelson Cruz, Washington's Gio Gonzalez, Toronto's Melky Cabrera and Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli — are among those linked to Biogenesis.
Braun refused to answer questions during a recent meeting with baseball about the investigation, according to ESPN. Suspensions could be handed down by baseball as soon as sometime after the All-Star break, though the players' union would be expected to fight any such action.
With Hank Steinbrenner looking on from a luxury box inside George M. Steinbrenner Field, Rodriguez played in his fifth rehab game yesterday, and looked like he still had considerable rust to knock off.
He struggled mightily at the plate, going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, while playing 5 2/3 innings in the field and cleanly making the only play he had.
"I felt OK," Rodriguez said. "I just have to continue to be patient. I had good work before the game and good work after the game now with [Yankees director of player development Pat Roessler] and Reggie [Jackson], just kind of keep going through the process."
Rodriguez is now 1-for-12 with four strikeouts over the five games, which have been split between Single-A Charleston and High-A Tampa. Rodriguez said he will be the designated hitter for Tampa today, then play at third again tomorrow night.
Because Rodriguez began his rehab stint from the hip surgery on July 2, the Yankees have until July 22 to add him to the major league roster, when the Yankees will be in Texas facing the Rangers.
"I hope so, that's the bottom line," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said when asked if the 20-game timeline would be enough for Rodriguez to get ready. "I think if you are healthy, it's enough. If you are concerned about your health and the hip isn't functioning correctly, it might take longer but so far we haven't had any reports that it's not."
Rodriguez didn't hesitate when asked the same question.
"I'll be ready," he said. "Yeah, I'll be ready."
If yesterday was any indication, however, Rodriguez has plenty of work to do before he will be ready to face major league pitching. His bat looked slow against Dunedin right-hander Jesse Hernandez. Rodriguez saw seven pitches — all strikes — in his the three at-bats, including a pair of three-pitch strikeouts when he swung at and missed five pitches.
Rodriguez displayed uncertainty when asked when he would get his timing back.
"Good question," he said. "It's not now, for sure.
"Before I started the first game ... [July 2], I probably talked about sometime of the 10th or 12th game to get some kind of idea of where my timing should be. We're still four or five games away from there. After 10 or 12 games, I'll have a better idea. ... I don't know if I'll have 100 percent timing, but I'll have better timing."
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