Alex Rodriguez underwent successful knee surgery yesterday, and the Yankees third baseman will begin his rehab in Miami, not Tampa.
Rodriguez had a slightly torn meniscus in his right knee and decided on Sunday to opt for surgery rather than play through the injury and have it repaired in the offseason. Rodriguez’s operation was performed at the University of Miami by Dr. Lee Kaplan, who also conducted surgery on Jorge Posada last offseason to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Yankees doctors had recommended Rodriguez have surgery, and he met with Kaplan on Sunday in Miami for a second opinion. Kaplan concurred.
The Yankees announced the first part of Rodriguez’s rehab will be under Kaplan’s supervision. Presumably because of that, Rodriguez will begin his rehab in Miami rather than at the Yankees’ minor-league and spring-training complex in Tampa. When Rodriguez had surgery on his right hip in 2009 in Vail, Colo., his rehab was in Colorado.
Rodriguez’s recovery is expected to take 4-6 weeks, though it could be longer. Four weeks from yesterday is Aug. 8 and six weeks is Aug. 22. If it’s longer than that, Rodriguez could be sidelined into September.
Rodriguez has not hit a home run in his last 85 at-bats, which is the longest stretch of his career for a single season. He has 13 homers this season, which means he may fall short of 20 for the first time in his career. The fewest homers Rodriguez hit in a full season was 23, in 1997 with Seattle.
Eduardo Nunez figures to replace Rodriguez at third base, though Triple-A third baseman Brandon Laird could be recalled. Laird is hitting .268 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.