TAMPA — When Derek Jeter was coming back from missing most of a season and got off to a rough start to spring training a year ago, the soon-to-be 40-year-old declined to panic.
Now that Alex Rodriguez, who is approaching 40 and is coming off a season missed because of suspension, has four hits and a pair of walks in 13 plate appearances this March, he has also refused to place much importance on the early results.
“There’s nothing really significant this time of year,” Rodriguez said. “[Whether it’s] 0-for-9, 4-for-9, it doesn’t mean anything.”
What Rodriguez seemed most pleased about after going 2-for-3 in Monday’s 4-3 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field was the fact he was able to play on consecutive days, as he followed up Sunday’s appearance at third base with a DH day on Monday.
“He said he was probably stiffer the first week than he was coming into today, which was normal,” Joe Girardi said. “And that’s what you want. You want the normal things to take place.”
For Rodriguez, normal isn’t something that happens regularly.
He did pick up his first RBI of the spring when he drove in Brian McCann from third in the second inning with a soft single to left.
“I’m a run-producer and I was just trying to get that run in,” Rodriguez said. “It doesn’t have to be pretty.”
So far, Girardi said Rodriguez has done what he’s supposed to do.
“I think he’s been selective,” the manager said. “Just continue to see progress. Timing was my concern for Alex.”
Girardi added Rodriguez “might” play the two home games the Yankees have on Wednesday and Thursday.
Masahiro Tanaka threw a 31-pitch bullpen session and came out of it in good shape.
“I felt absolutely fine,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. “I’m gradually getting better and better.’’
And he is confident he’s on target to make his first start of the spring on Thursday.
“I’m ready to go,” Tanaka said. “I don’t look at it as something particularly special. It’s part of building toward the season, but I am looking forward to it.’’
Three hard-hit balls to begin the third inning weren’t what Nathan Eovaldi was looking for, especially since he gave up a league-high 223 hits a year ago with the Marlins.
But in his debut with the Yankees, the right-hander managed to recover and struck out five in three scoreless innings.
“I was able to get out of the jam,” Eovaldi said. “I felt like I was rushing some off-speed pitches. … Working ahead in the count was a big key today.”
Girardi liked Eovaldi’s curveball — and also doesn’t want the hard-thrower to think too much about strikeouts.
“Weak contact is not the worst thing either,” Girardi said. “If you try to pitch to swing-and-miss, you can wind up throwing 100 pitches in five innings and we don’t want that.”
Brendan Ryan (back) is on schedule to resume light baseball activity in the cage on Wednesday, while Nick Noonan is day-to-day with a stiff neck.
Additional reporting by Kevin Kernan