TAMPA — Derek Jeter was back on the field Friday for the first time since being scratched from a game Tuesday and receiving a cortisone shot Wednesday because of stiffness in his left ankle.
Despite the uncertainty as Opening Day approaches, Jeter remains upbeat.
“I’m always encouraged,” Jeter said about the ankle. “I’m optimistic. I’m encouraged there’s nothing wrong with it.”
After taking batting practice and fielding grounders at Steinbrenner Field, the shortstop could play in a minor league game as soon as Saturday in Tampa.
“Why not?” Jeter said when asked if he was ready to get in a game. “Everything’s good. Nothing’s broke; no tendons [are damaged]. It’s just soreness and I can deal with that.”
He will have to, because that won’t be going away anytime soon.
Still, he hasn’t resigned himself to playing in minor league games the rest of spring training or opening the year on the disabled list.
“Listen, when I’m ready to play, I’ll play here,” Jeter said of playing in major league camp. “I’ll play anywhere. Today was here. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Jeter received the shot Wednesday to get rid of some of the inflammation discovered in an MRI exam and said he felt better than he did on Tuesday, when he was unable to go in a Grapefruit League game in Clearwater.
Since then, Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman have floated the idea of Jeter beginning the regular season on the DL and therefore having him play games strictly in the minors so the team can backdate the DL stint to Friday, which is the earliest possible date they can go. If that’s the case, he would be eligible to play April 6.
Jeter said they have run the plan by him, but he’s not completely sold on it just yet.
“I understand it, but I also understand plans change sometimes,” said Jeter, who took batting practice and fielded grounders, but otherwise didn’t move around much in a workout at Steinbrenner Field. “I didn’t understand how it worked until they explained it to me… I understand what their concerns are.”
Jeter has not been told how long he will have to deal with the discomfort, although he doesn’t expect it to last all season.
“Some days are gonna be better than others,” Jeter said. “But eventually it goes away, so you get through it as much as you can.”
That won’t change anytime soon.
“I wish it was completely gone,” Jeter said. “I wish I never felt it. I wish I could just wake up and it’s gone, but that’s not the case and that’s not gonna be the case, but as long as structurally everything’s fine, I’m OK with it.”
And he’s still learning how the ankle will react at different times.
“Different body parts are different,” Jeter said. “All your weight is on your ankle.”
He has yet to play a simulated game or even run the bases, tests he may have to pass before he gets the go-ahead to play in a real game.
“I’ve been hurt and I’ve gone and played minor leagues a few days and come up,” Jeter said. “It doesn’t matter to me… I do what I’m told. My goal is to come back as soon as I can.”
