A-Rod Finishes Rehab Stint, Now Headed To Minnesota

From Danny Wild:

Rodriguez left to a standing ovation in the eighth inning after his line drive single to right field wrapped up his four-game Minor League rehab stint. He'll rejoin the Yankees on Thursday in Minnesota after going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks in his second game at Triple-A, a 3-2 loss to the Bulls.

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"I feel good," said Rodriguez, who confirmed he will be in Minnesota on Thursday but will not play. "We're going to make a collective, smart decision and we have a lot of important games coming up."

Rodriguez actually heard some boos in the first inning when he let Russ Canzler's grounder bounce through his legs, allowing Brandon Guyer to race home with the Bulls' second run. He got a bit of a sarcastic cheer when he nabbed Ray Olmedo's inning-ending line drive.

"I really thought I played great defense when the ball wasn't hit to me," Rodriguez said with a smile. "Those are the hardest balls I've seen hit in about five weeks. But it's all part of the process. It was fun and I thought my legs felt good under me. Defensively, I thought I got a little bit better as the night went on."

Rodriguez appeared healthy in the field and made several nice plays to both sides. He robbed former No. 1 overall Draft pick Tim Beckham of a single down the line in the second but was tested again moments later when he failed to stop Canzler's grounder to his right. It was ruled a hit.

A-Rod also talked about how impressed he was with Montero behind the plate:

"The way he's caught the last two nights, he's obviously good enough to catch at the Major League level, no question," he added. "He plays with a lot of intensity. He's got all the tools. We came in today and had a great session, talked about the makeup, the mental side of hitting. Obviously, he's a guy we expect big things from. From what I saw the last two nights, he's not going to disappoint out there."

Kristie Ackert also wrote an article this morning talking about how A-Rod was a mentor to Montero while rehabbing with SWB.

“He has been great with all the guys, but really taken Monty under his wing,” [SWB manager] Wynegar said. “He is trying to show him the work it takes at the major league level. And Monty is just absorbing it all.”

Good stuff by A-Rod.

The Yankees, according to Mark Feinsand, will most likely return to a 12-man pitching staff when A-Rod rejoins the team in Minnesota. I assume Hector Noesi will go back down.