TAMPA – Rondell White’s goal of staying out of the trainer’s room crashed hard into an X-ray machine yesterday when the Yankees’ left fielder suffered a left rib-cage injury during a batting practice drill.
White, who has been inundated with injuries the past three years that limited him to 189 games, vowed to avoid the trainer’s room as recently as Sunday. However, when he felt something pull while partaking in a flip drill he went immediately to see Gene Monahan and Steve Donohue.
Per usual with rib-cage injuries, it’s not a day-to-day deal.
“If it’s a classic rib-cage, you are dealing with 10 days,” manager Joe Torre said before knowing the results of White’s X-rays.
“At least a week or more,” GM Brian Cashman said. “On a scale of 1 to 4 it’s a 2.5. We will see.”
White is the second offseason investment to come up lame. Jason Giambi missed his second straight intra-squad game with a balky right hamstring and may not play until Saturday, in the Yankees’ third exhibition game.
Asked to label White’s problem, Cashman said it was more than a slight strain but not a pull.
Whatever the injury is called, it’s a concern for White, whom the Yankees signed for $10 million across two years and prayed the 30-year-old outfielder would stay healthy.
Now, two days before the opening of the exhibition season the Yankees don’t know when they will get back White.
“I felt it when I swung,” said White, who wasn’t slated to play in yesterday’s intra-squad game. “I iced it to be on the safe side. I have learned not to over-do it. We will see.”
Torre and Cashman pointed to the injury happening early in camp, and Torre believes that even if White misses 10 days there will be ample time for him to hone his swing before the season opens.
When the Yankees signed White, critics of the deal pointed to White’s injury history.
“I can understand where it would be, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Torre said. “That’s a tough tag to shake, it really is. When I had my meeting before spring training I said, ‘We don’t want heroes. We don’t care what you are trying to prove. We don’t want a guy going out there if they are less than 100 percent other than your normal spring-training arms and legs and stuff.
” ‘We don’t want someone to take a little injury and turn it into a big one by trying to be a hero or trying to shake a tag. I talked to him about that today.’ “
Because of the nature of the injury, it’s hard to predict when White will return. Scott Brosius and Derek Jeter have spent time on the DL with rib cage problems in recent years.
“Whatever it is, we will take a few more days beyond that,” Torre said. “The only problem is that when you have a rib cage it really shuts you down. Sure, he can do some stuff. He will be able to keep the lower half in shape because of conditioning that you can do, but it eliminates the throwing and the swinging.”
Since White’s health is a popular topic – he has been on the DL eight times since 1996 with an assortment of injuries – Torre may have to formulate a plan to implement if White’s problem lingers. And if that happens, the Yankees may have to do without a bat they signed to provide muscle in the middle of the order.