Just because Derek Jeter will be in Boston tonight doesn’t guarantee the Yankees captain is ready to return to action.
According to general manager Brian Cashman, Jeter will meet the Yankees at Fenway Park and it will be decided whether he will play against the Red Sox, will remain on the active roster but not play or will land back on the disabled list.
“I couldn’t tell you,’’ Cashman said when asked if Jeter will be in manager Joe Girardi’s lineup for the first of three games against the American League East leaders, who have a six-game lead over the fourth-place Yankees. “He is on the active roster and expected to be in Boston. I can’t tell you [whether] he will be a player in Boston or not.’’
Jeter came off the disabled list last Thursday and played his first game of the season against the Twins. While his twice-fractured left ankle held up, his right quadriceps didn’t. He left the game with a strain and hasn’t played since.
He spent the week receiving treatment at Yankee Stadium but according to Cashman, Jeter didn’t do anything else.
So, if Jeter plays tonight — likely as the designated hitter — he will do so without having participated in baseball activities for more than a week.
Should Jeter not be in the lineup, the Yankees have two choices. They can wait a few days, hoping the leg improves or place him back on the DL.
* The Yankees expect Robinson Cano to be able to play tonight after taking a 96 mph fastball from Matt Harvey off his right quadriceps during the first inning of Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Citi Field.
That Cano left for the Dominican Republic after the All-Star Game was an indication he would be OK. If the Yankees believed he required treatment they would have strongly suggested their best player remain in New York.
* Cashman said there was nothing new with Francisco Cervelli (fractured right hand/stress reaction right elbow). Curtis Granderson, who hopes to make it back from a fractured left pinky before August, remains limited to batting practice in Tampa.