Although there is no official timetable for his return, those within the organization are targeting May 1 as a possible return date for Derek Jeter, according to a story written by CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Heyman reports that the date is “optimistic” barring any setbacks.
Jeter, who experienced “stiffness” in his surgically repaired left ankle on March 19, has since been limited to strengthening exercises and long toss down in Tampa, Fla. The Yankees want him to play in back-t0-back nine inning games without any problems before he is deemed ready to play; He hasn’t even begun to field grounders at shortstop yet.
The Yankees will be very cautious with Jeter, since he rushed back in March and experienced discomfort. Heyman also notes that outfielder Curtis Granderson and first baseman Mark Teixeira could also be back sometime in May. Teixeira has been cleared to remove the brace from his injured wrist, but still needs to wear it during workouts – he was taking ground balls at first at Yankee Stadium just the other day. Granderson, who just needs to wait for the broken bone in his forearm to heal, should get his cast removed in the near future and will begin more baseball activities.
For now, the Yankees need to keep the ship afloat until they can get some of these mainstays back in the lineup on an every day basis.
