KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Yankees captain Derek Jeter could be joined by catcher Jorge Posada on the bench with injuries as New York begins a grueling stretch that has them playing 18 of 20 games on the road.
Jeter did not play in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Kansas City because of a strained left quadriceps. He could be out at least this three-game series. Posada was removed in the sixth inning with a “dead arm,” and plans to undergo an MRI.
The Yankees were not planning to put their eight-time All-Star shortstop on the DL and hoped he would be back for a series this weekend in Boston.
“He probably won’t be available this series,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before the game. “We’ll shoot for the Red Sox series. We’ll see where he’s at after a couple of days and try to make an evaluation then.”
Jeter said he hurt the muscle running before Monday’s game against Tampa Bay and that the pain was “not that bad at all.”
“I haven’t tried to do anything yet. I’ve got to go in the trainers room and see what they tell me,” he said.
Wilson Betemit replaced Jeter in the lineup and struck out three times after getting an RBI single.
The Royals stole five bases on Posada and were caught only once.
“It’s not sore,” Girardi said of the catcher’s right arm. “The ball is just not coming out of his hand the way you want it to. His footwork is fine. We’ll have to sit down and talk about that tonight and evaluate what we’re going to do.”
Girardi said he did not know whether the cold weather had contributed to the problems.
Girardi said he had not discussed the possibility of moving Alex Rodriguez, an All-Star shortstop who switched to third when he was traded to the Yankees in 2004.
“We’re just thinking he’s been our third baseman the last few years. He’s comfortable playing third,” Girardi said. “I don’t see it being a problem with him not feeling comfortable playing short. But that’s why we have Wilson. If someone goes down in the middle of the infield for a couple of days, that’s why we have him.”
Jeter attempted to play on Monday but left after two innings. Girardi said an MRI did not indicate serious damage.
“It didn’t really reveal like a tear or anything. You could see there was a little something there. It doesn’t change our time frame. We’re not going to entertain any warm weather for the next six days, and that’s a little bit of a concern.”
Posada said he would have an MRI and that he’d felt this way in the shoulder before.
“It’s dead. It’s like I have no strength. It doesn’t take that long to heal. That’s not what I’m worried about. It usually takes four or five days. I had a little bit of it in the spring and now I’ve got a little bit of it now. I was throwing good down in Florida. We’ll see.”
He wasn’t sure if the arm would improve with rest.
“We’ll see,” he said. “The thing that I’m positive about right now is there’s no pain. I can’t really snap the throw.”
Girardi said he planned to watch Posada closely the next couple of days.
“There’s a weakness there. We need to get his arm strength back where we need it to be,” he said. “We’ll have to watch him play catch and see what his arm strength is. I know what his arm strength is when it’s there. It’s not there, and I’m not sure when that will be.”
In one bit of good news, the Yankees got first baseman Jason Giambi back after a two-day absence. He had been out with a sore left groin.
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