Alex Rodriguez to begin rehab assignment

Although many thought he'd be back in the starting lineup for the big league club tonight against the Blue Jays, the Yankees have announced that DH Alex Rodriguez will instead start for the Trenton Thunder as part of a rehab assignment. A-Rod has been on the shelf since May 4 with a strained right hamstring. The 40-year-old was hitting .194/.275/.444 with five homers and 12 RBI when he injured himself running down the first base line against Baltimore. In his absence, the Yankees have climbed out of last place in the division and into third, coming within one game of .500. Carlos Beltran has primarily been the DH over the past two-and-a-half weeks, giving Aaron Hicks extended playing time in the outfield. Since May 4, Beltran has hit .292/.329/.646 with five homers, 17 RBI and eight doubles. When A-Rod is ready to return, Rob Refsnyder will likely be optioned to Scranton to make room on the 25-man roster. Refsnyder was called up on May 17 as an extra right-handed bat on Joe Girardi's bench. Originally, the Yankees and A-Rod said that a rehab assignment wouldn't be necessary, and that he'd be activated as soon as he was eligible to come off the disabled list last Thursday in Oakland. His return has already been pushed back several times since then. There has been no word yet on how long the rehab assignment will last, but it shouldn't be too long before we see A-Rod back in the starting lineup.

DH @AROD will play tonight for the @TrentonThunder in Trenton as part of a rehab assignment.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) May 24, 2016