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Derek Jeter is currently in Tampa, rehabbing from a calf injury and trying to make it back to the Bronx for the stretch run of the 2013 season. In the aftermath of a fractured ankle set back and subsequent leg injuries, the 39-year-old shortstop has played in just five games this season. 

In the late-60s, the New York Yankees franchise dealt with the decline and eventual retirement of then franchise icon Mickey Mantle. At the time of his retirement, Mantle held the record for most games played in pinstripes. That record now belongs to Jeter.

While Mantle’s legacy stayed intact, his final days on the field were filled with injuries, positional changes and decline in production.

On behalf of baseball fans, especially those in New York, the following is an open plea to Derek Jeter to not become Mickey Mantle 2.0. If Jeter’s body continues to fail him through the winter and early next spring training, the comparisons to Mantle won’t end.

Mickey Mantle was a .305 career hitter through the end of the 1965 season, his 16th year in the major leagues. Derek Jeter was a .313 career hitter through the end of the 2012 season, his 17th full year in the major leagues.

Starting in 1966 and continuing through the 1967 season, Mantle hit .241 in 1,100 plate appearances, lowering his career average to .298. While the mark hardly diminished his legacy, especially in an era that now values on-base percentage more than batting average, the below .300 finish ate at Mantle.

Derek Jeter hit .316 in 2012. In five games, a very, very small sample size, Jeter got off to a .211 start. When, or, if, he returns for the end of the 2013 season, there will be major concerns over Derek Jeter’s ability to hit like he has since 1996. If he can’t produce offensively, the Yankees will soon face a dilemma surrounding his playing time due to Jeter’s poor defense at shortstop.

In other words, Jeter can’t hit like Mantle did in his last two seasons and still remain in the everyday lineup. His power and defense won’t provide enough value unless he hits and reaches base at a high clip.

Production aside, the Yankees are entering a transition period of their franchise. While contending for one of the two wild card spots is still in play for New York, the team isn’t the juggernaut of the late-90s or early 2000s. In fact, imagining a drought without postseason baseball in the Bronx isn’t difficult.

Jeter, since arriving in the Bronx as a sensational, franchise changing rookie shortstop in 1996, has missed the postseason just once.

Similarly, Mickey Mantle played in the postseason in all but two Octobers from 1951 through 1964. In his final three years, the franchise finished sixth, tenth and ninth, respectively, in the American League standings. Without the luxury of wild cards, or even the LCS, New York and Mantle were well, well short of the postseason.

Jeter has $9.5 million reasons to return in 2014, and it’s expected that he will, trying to put the bad taste of 2013 out of his mouth. If he can find his health and hitting form of the last two decades, the Yankees will gladly pay that salary for a soon-to-be 40-year-old shortstop. If he can’t, however, the team and shortstop will deal with uncharted territory in 2014 and beyond.

Mantle went out a shell of himself. Jeter doesn’t have to if he realizes he can’t physically do the job any longer.

Last winter, Derek Jeter’s day-by-day progress in Tampa was a major story in New York. He vowed to be back at shortstop for opening day against Boston. Of course, that never happened.

Unfortunately for Yankees fans, the prospect of Jeter’s health moving forward hasn’t become any less murky. If he doesn’t recover soon and finish 2013 strong, the narratives out of spring training 2014 could be about Jeter’s ability to ever play regularly again.

For a future Hall of Famer with 13 All-Star appearances, 72.3 career Wins Above Replacement and five World Series rings, holding on and fighting father time shouldn’t be part of the long-term legacy.

Jeter has followed in Mickey Mantle’s footsteps admirably as the face of the Yankees, on-field leader and legendary winner.

He doesn’t have to when it comes to the end of a storied career.

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As the MLB regular season begins to enter its final stages, the teams that find themselves outside of playoff contention at least can look toward September call-ups as a chance to look at their future.

Following a sweep to the lowly Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees have to consider the idea of seeing their top prospects in the big leagues.

Sadly, most of the Yankees top prospects are not only playing in low levels of the minors, but they are struggling while there.

Considering that the Yankees have several players still on long-term contracts this isn’t the worst possible situation to be in with their prospects, but a position-by-position breakdown shows that these kids are still years away from joining the big club.

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Late-night television talk shows made headlines in the world of baseball Thursday night.

First, Mark Cuban, appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, had some choice words and opinions about Alex Rodriguez and Bud Selig.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was also the subject of a much-talked about late-night moment, but as usual, it was for something much less controversial than the world of Alex Rodriguez.

Appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the host, joined by The Roots, took it upon himself to introduce Jeter to new walk-up music for use during his Yankee Stadium at-bats.

The entire bit was hilarious, well done and clearly enjoyed by Jeter.

Each of the three potential future Jeter walk-up sounds was, well, unique.

The first two, performed by an overly excited Fallon, nearly brought Jeter to tears of laughter.

Fallon began the festivities by asking Jeter to walk from behind the curtain to a home plate set up on the stage, simulating his walk to the plate from the on-deck circle at Yankee Stadium. Then the real fun began.

While it’s unlikely Jeter would use either the over-the-top fan-favorite rendition or the heavy-rock, loud and brash rendition, he did seem to really, really enjoy The Roots’ third and final try at a new song.

In part one of the Jeter interview, Fallon and the future Hall of Fame shortstop spoke about a Jeter charity event and party that Fallon was invited to attend years back. Among the highlights of that conversation: Fallon’s embarrassing first time meeting Michael Jordan, golf talk from two non-golfers and where a group of celebrities and athletes finally found a lost Fallon at the Hard Rock hotel.

This wasn’t Jeter’s first foray into late-night comedy. As the interviewer and interviewee noted during Thursday night’s interview, the Yankees shortstop hosted Saturday Night Live 12 years ago. Although Jeter has always been measured and calm when dealing with the media, he’s actually thought of as a really funny and outgoing guy around his teammates and friends.

In a world of sports coverage where every quote is dissected for meaning, Jeter rarely provides anything to spark the flames in New York.

Yet when given a forum, like Thursday night with Fallon, he delivered a fun and interesting pair of segments.

Moving forward, don’t expect many more late-night television appearances from Jeter or to start hearing Fallon’s vocal cords introduce him to the Bronx crowd when he returns from the disabled list, but The Roots’ work would actually be really fun to hear in Yankee Stadium.

Jeter has suggested he may transition into ownership when his career ends, but if Thursday night showed anything about his post-career potential, Fallon shouldn’t have to look far for a co-host on his talk show.

In a baseball world of controversy and harping on performance-enhancing drug issues, coverage of the sport can use some levity.

If A-Rod’s return to the Bronx is throwing you into a tizzy, re-watch Jeter’s face when Fallon’s vocal cords begin to crack. It’s worth the click!

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Lost in the shuffle of Alex Rodriguez‘s return was the departure, for the third time this season, of New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter.

As the 39-year-old shortstop exited the active roster with a strained calf, his future as a healthy and productive major league player would have been the topic of conversation on the YES Network and MLB Network on Monday night had it not been for the Biogenesis fallout and Rodriguez appeal.

Heading into an offseason that holds an $8 million player option for Jeter to decide upon, it’s becoming increasingly clear that his days are numbered. From the fractured ankle last October to multiple setbacks to the quad injury upon returning to the recent sore calf, Jeter’s body is betraying him.

For a player as durable and productive as Jeter since debuting in 1996, it’s strange to see his body fail him before his skill set truly diminishes. 

Simply put, Derek Jeter can still hit enough to be a top-of-the-order bat in any lineup. Last season, Jeter led the American League in hits (216) and posted a .791 OPS. This year, while spending all but five games sidelined, only three shortstops (Jean Segura, Jhonny Peralta and Ian Desmond) have eclipsed Jeter’s OPS mark from 2012. Considering that Peralta is now serving a 50-game suspension for connection to Biogenesis, a healthy Derek Jeter would still profile as one of the best offensive shortstops in the game.

Yet the 13-time All-Star can’t stay healthy long enough to provide a jolt to the Yankees offense. 

Considering how durable Jeter was from 1996-2012, the frustration inside the New York dugout and clubhouse must be overwhelming. On his way to contributing 72.2 WAR for a dominant string of Yankees teams, Jeter averaged 151 games played per season over his first 17 big league campaigns. Outside of a long-term calf injury in 2011 and dislocated shoulder in 2003, Jeter was allergic to the disabled list.

That durability helped him rack up over 3,000 hits and surpass all but two (Omar Vizquel and Luis Aparico) shortstops on the all-time games played list for the position.

Now, as Jeter is sidelined again, it’s fair to wonder if the wear and tear of playing a demanding defensive position, rarely taking a day off and racking up nearly 12,000 plate appearances has caught up to his aging body.

The thought of retirement hasn’t crossed Jeter’s lips to reporters around the team, but he wouldn’t put anything like that out for public consumption.

With a reasonable player option, for both team and player, it’s likely that the shortstop will enter 2014 on his last long-term contract ever from the New York Yankees. With one year left to stay healthy and prove his worth for 2015 and beyond, the season could take on a farewell-tour atmosphere, even if Jeter isn’t keen on the idea.

Regardless of how Jeter’s contract status shakes out from now through the end of 2014, it’s becoming more and more apparent that New York will look for an adequate contingency plan this winter. In Jeter’s absence, luminaries such as Chris Nelson, Eduardo Nunez, Reid Brignac, Alberto Gonzalez and Luis Cruz combined to post a collective slugging percentage under .300. 

Of course, Nunez was held out of franchise-changing trade talks to provide left-side-of-the-infield relief when Jeter and/or Alex Rodriguez missed time or transitioned to the designated hitter spot of the lineup. Due to his own injury and ineffectiveness, the losses of Jeter and Rodriguez were exacerbated. 

Offensively, Jeter may rebound in September or hit enough in 2014 to warrant a discussion about a run at Tris Speaker and top five of the all-time hit list. Yet, if 2012 and 2013 represent the trend in Jeter’s aging career, his ability to stay healthy and on the field is going to become the focal point over the waning days of his storied time in New York.

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The Biogenesis saga has become the Alex Rodriguez saga. Rodriguez was hit with the oddly-constructed 211-game suspension on Monday and without explanation or evidence, it’s hard to have much of a position based on facts, though that hasn’t stopped many. 

What’s been most interesting to me is how little people seem to know about the testing program. Referred to as the “JDA” or joint drug agreement, it spells out in minute detail how the program is supposed to work. It’s legalese, but important legalese. 

Few seem to understand “A” sample and “B” samples, collection procedures, location registration, methodology for randomization, but I wouldn’t expect them to. I can see why people might gloss over lists of chemicals, appeals procedures and even the precise language requiring secrecy throughout the process, up to and including the wording of press releases. 

This document, negotiated and re-negotiated by the commissioner’s representatives and the players’ association was supposed to have governed this process but instead was shattered by it. Whether it was Bud Selig’s edict, congressional grandstanding or a public perfectly willing to let both sides make end runs around the letter of the law, the JDA is now not worth the paper it’s printed on.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article here at Bleacher Report discussing possible replacements for Bud Selig. I ended up with his most likely “replacement” being Selig himself, with the commissioner set up to once again extend his reign. Now, I’m not so sure. This episode has weakened the position of the commissioner’s role. The MLBPA will not allow the “integrity clause” to be as unfettered as it has been since the days of Landis and negotiations on the JDA itself will end up more tense. Selig likely doesn’t care.

Selig has instead lashed his legacy to this mast, forever tying himself to the beginning, the heyday and perhaps the end of the so-called steroid era. Selig wishes to be remembered as the commissioner who revived the game and perhaps saved it from an enemy greater than even an angered public after the World Series was cancelled. 

This was Selig’s moment, when he stood at the lectern and pronounced his sentence on Alex Rodriguez. While appeals and who knows what else in this saga awaits us, down to a potential 2015 return, Selig should seal the moment with his own resignation. It is clear that he feels this is his defining act and that nothing after could compare.

Selig dropped the hammer. Now he should drop the mic.

But there’s still injuries around baseball, so let’s take a look around the league:

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As the pennant races heat up and teams begin to fall by the wayside, big-name players will be relied on to step up in pressure situations. When given the opportunity, certain players will have the chance to redeem themselves.

For an organization to make a run at the World Series, all 40 players on the roster must work as a well-oiled machine. If one part is broken, the whole system can shut down. But, if that part can be fixed, it’s full-steam ahead to the pennant.

These 12 players have hobbled their way through the 2013 season, hampering the potential of their respective teams. Whether via underachievement or injury, these major leaguers with subpar seasons can make a serious difference down the stretch.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

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As tough as it is for baseball fans to come to terms with, Derek Jeter‘s injury issues appear to be the new normal for the aging superstar of the New York Yankees.

According to Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com, Jeter will miss this weekend’s games against the San Diego Padres due to multiple issues with his right leg, including a lingering quad injury that originally halted his return this season after just one game.

Derek Jeter will not play against the Padres on Saturday or Sunday due to lingering soreness in his right quad, Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed. The team captain also has some soreness in his calf.

While the calf problem is nothing to write off as unimportant, what’s particularly troubling is that Jeter is having continuous troubles with his right quad. After all, it was the quad injury that stopped him from continuing his original return from last season’s major ankle injury.

Even while rehabbing his ankle, he had a setback in that process, which delayed his return from the start to the middle of the 2013 campaign.

The Yankees captain suffered the quad injury while running to first base back in early July, and it seems to be a nagging issue for the 39-year-old. To make matters worse, Jeter’s whole right leg is now acting up, and it couldn’t be more concerning for the Bronx Bombers.

Despite the fact that he is just 3-for-15 with one homer and one RBI since his second return, he still stands as the best option the Yanks have at shortstop—both offensively and defensively—whether you’re talking about this season or next.

Losing him once again for an extended period of time will leave the Bombers even worse off offensively than they are now.

Judging from all the setbacks he’s had this season, it’s clear that the 39-year-old version of Jeter’s body isn’t healing quite as well as the 29-year-old version would have. As problematic as that is for his prospects moving forward, it is only natural and comes with the territory for elder statesmen in sports.

Sure, some players have managed to stave off Father Time (see: Mariano Rivera), but those cases are rare. And while Jeter has seemed to be immune to everything from injuries to his private life becoming public, not even he can beat the aging process.

It might be hard to accept, but chances are that he has seen his last days as a guy who can play 150 games or more. After all, 2013 will be the first season in his career that he fails to play in at least 100 games.

Instead, he will likely have to get more days off or at the very least half days off by batting in the designated hitter slot moving forward.

I’m sure Jeter won’t come to that realization easily, but he must realize it’s what’s best for the rest of his career and the team. He wouldn’t be the first to accept the fate of old age and won’t be the last either.

No timetable has been set for his return, but it could be anywhere from day-to-day to a stint on the disabled list that could end his season early, should it last more than the normal 15-day term.

If the worst-case scenario takes place, the floodgates will open, leading to speculative articles about the potential retirement of the greatest Yankee shortstop of all time.

Not so fast, people. Jeter is a competitor the likes of which we don’t get to see regularly, and there’s not a chance on this Earth that No. 2 takes this new normal on without a fight.

He will battle to his last physical breath to ensure that he doesn’t walk away from the game too early. He is a fighter and will always be one until his last day playing baseball.

Father Time will eventually win the battle, but nature better bring its A-game because Jeter will bring no less than that as he attempts to play into his 40s.

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With less than 10 days until the trade deadline, the New York Yankees continue to hover above .500, but are seven games back in the AL East and 3.5 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card spot.

This is the time that Brian Cashman usually pulls a rabbit out of his hat by acquiring a player who helps take the Yankees on another playoff ride.

That’s why I titled this article “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”

Sure, the piece mimics the title from a mediocre, year-old movie, starring a beautiful cast consisting of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez and Brooklyn Decker. But this rom-com truly depicts the puzzling question that most Yankee fans are dealing with.

The Yankees have to make a blockbuster trade, right?

Back in 2006, the Yankees made a splash by bringing in Bobby Abreu in a seven-player deal. Cashman traded for Xavier Nady and Ivan Rodriguez in 2008. In 2010, New York brought in Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood to bolster the lineup and bullpen. Last season, with a week remaining before the deadline, Cashman traded for Ichiro Suzuki to aid an ailing outfield.

History shows that when the Yankees have needed late-season help, Cashman has managed to give his team the necessary boost.

But this season, the Yankees need more than a boost.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have both suffered setbacks in their rehab; Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are both out for the season. Curtis Granderson should be back soon, but it is doubtful he will contribute quickly to the lineup after breaking his hand yet again.

If the Yankees want to grab a postseason spot, they will need to bring in more bats. There are plenty of players out there that could revive the lineup: Alex Rios, Michael Young and Jonathan Lucroy are names that come to mind as guys who could be dealt.

But here’s the million-dollar question: What’s the cost?

Now I’m going to say something that most Yankee fans don’t want to hear. This team is old and ailing and the stars are only getting older. Sure, the pitching staff and Robinson Cano may be keeping New York in contention for a playoff spot, but I’m not putting any money on a deep playoff run.

I’m not pronouncing New York as a seller, but more like a cautious buyer. What do I mean by that? Bringing in a Rios or Young might not be worth what New York would send back. Buy at a bargain; sell if the offer is too sweet to pass up.

It’s a tough thing to swallow, especially for someone who was born into the Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada era, but the Yankees need to start moving out with the old and in with the youth. 

Maybe it means trading Robinson Cano for some blue-chip prospects or swapping a starter like Phil Hughes for a young hitter. The Yankees also have a plethora of bullpen arms that could be shopped around. The good news is there are plenty of options out there.

Does Cashman believe a player or two now is worth a couple prospects for the future? Or will selling now lead to a brighter future?  It all depends on how Cashman sees his team right now.

What should we expect when we’re expecting?

Yankee fans expect championships, not just playoff appearances. Maybe playing it safe this year could help bring our lofty expectations to a more rapid reality. I’m not suggesting the Yankees won’t do anything—I’m just warning you that they might not do much.

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Derek Jeter has been able to do nothing but watch this year, and what he’s seen hasn’t been pretty.

As the veteran shortstop has been busy rehabbing a fractured left ankle that he suffered last October, the New York Yankees have been one of the most ineffective offensive teams in the American League. If their current pace holds, the Bombers are going to have their worst offensive season in over two decades.

Yankees fans can rest assured. The Captain will have something to say about that when he returns, and he won’t even have to be his old self in order to do so.

We’ll get to that soon enough. For now, here’s the good news: The time of Jeter’s return is finally drawing near.

Jeter just started a minor league rehab assignment a few days ago, but he told Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger and other reporters on Monday that he’s ready to go. Even Yankees manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman admitted there’s a chance Jeter could make his return this weekend.

On Tuesday, that still sounds like a pretty real possibility. Here’s McCullough with the latest:

Nothing’s final, but there’s a chance Jeter will get his feet wet against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium this weekend. Either way, it’s now pretty much a given that he’s going to be there in the second half to help the Yankees make a run.

But there’s the tricky part. Precisely how much will Jeter be able to help?

It’s a question I touched on a few weeks ago, but only very briefly and there was just as much attention paid to how Jeter is going to impact the Yankees’ lineup as there was to what his actual performance is going to be.

What I want to do here is focus more on his actual performance with the use of some super-fun-happy numbers.

One solution to this quandary would be to take a rough guess at what Jeter’s second-half numbers are going to be. But, nah. A better solution is to consult the Steamer projections.

According to FanGraphs, the Steamer system sees the following numbers in Jeter’s future:

The bottom line is a .288/.345/.389 slash line and a .734 OPS.

Such numbers look modest at first glance, especially in light of what Jeter did in 2012. He hit .316/.362/.429 and, of course, led the league in hits. If he goes from there to the numbers Steamer is projecting for him, he’ll be taking a step back offensively.

But now for why that makes perfect sense.

Steamer is projecting a 7.4 BB% and a 13.5 K% for Jeter. That’s because of what he’s done over the three previous seasons, in which he’s racked up a 7.4 BB% and a 13.3 K%. He’s always been a relatively low-walk and low-strikeout guy. He was just that in the last three seasons, and Steamer is expecting him to be just that once more down the stretch in 2013.

There’s also the .323 BABIP that Steamer is projecting for Jeter. That’s a far cry from the .347 BABIP he posted last year and a step down from the .330 BABIP he compiled between 2010 and 2012, but it’s fair because of what we know about 39-year-old hitters.

According to Baseball-Reference, only 11 39-year-olds in history to qualify for the batting title posted BABIPs as high as .320. Only five of those went as high as .330. So to a degree, a projected BABIP of .323 for Jeter is paying him a compliment. One I’d say he’s earned, given his history.

Then there’s the matter of Jeter’s projected ISO (Isolated Power) of .101. That’s a step back from the .113 ISO he posted last year but almost perfectly in line with the .102 ISO he racked up between 2010 and 2012. Also, Jeter only had a .095 ISO in his final 133 games last year, as the bulk of his power production came early in the season.

Lastly, there are those 56 games played. The Yankees have 67 games lined up for the second half, so Steamer is anticipating Jeter getting a lot of days off between now and the end of the season. Probably a few too many knowing him, but at the same time it is practical to anticipate the Yankees taking it easy with Jeter. They’d rather have him occasionally annoyed than broken again, after all.

From a league-wide perspective, the Steamer projections would make Jeter about an average offensive player. The Yankees will gladly take one of those for the second half, however, as getting average production from shortstop would be a huge leg up.

Here’s how the numbers projected for Jeter compare to the numbers the Yankees have actually gotten from their shortstops so far in 2013.

Suddenly the numbers projected for Jeter don’t look so bad, do they? In fact, they look darn good.

How bad have Yankees shortstops been at the plate? Well, the Yankees are a lousy offensive team, so it’s saying something that they’ve gotten a worse OPS (.558) from shortstop than they have from any other position on the diamond. Jeter will be a ginormous upgrade.

In fact, what the heck. Let’s go ahead and put some numbers on it.

If you were wondering why I picked out the specific numbers I did for the tables above, it’s because those are the numbers one needs to make use of the Runs Created calculator over at Had2Know.

(Quick note: If you’re just now joining us from a multi-decade slumber, “Runs Created” is a stat that was developed by Bill James a while back that measures more or less what it says it measures: how many runs a player is worth to his team.)

By the formula used by Had2Know, Yankees shortstops have created 25 runs thus far in 2013, or about seven percent of the 349 runs the Yankees have scored. Given their horrid production, that sounds about right.

Plug in Jeter’s projected numbers, and you get 31 runs created for the stretch run. That’s a minor difference at first glance, but it’s a much bigger difference once you factor in the smaller number of at-bats and games played. If he lives up to his projections, Jeter is going to create many more runs in a much smaller sample size of playing time.

That underscores the point that, health permitting, Jeter is going to be an offensive boon for the Yankees in the second half. The Yankees are at 3.92 runs per game now. With Jeter in the lineup on a regular basis, you have to think that they’ll be able to get over four runs per game easily.

The catch?

Jeter should be a significant defensive downgrade for the Yankees. Their shortstops rank about in the middle of the pack in Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs. Jeter was the worst shortstop in the league in both those categories last year, and that was before doctors went in with instruments and put his left ankle back together.

Point being that some of the runs Jeter is going to give the Yankees on offense are going to be erased by his defense. The Yankees are going to need either better pitching or more offense to account for those.

More offense is hardly out of the question. Just as Jeter will be an offensive upgrade at short if he stays healthy, Alex Rodriguez will be an offensive upgrade at third base if he comes back stays healthy. Curtis Granderson will (theoretically) provide some power upon his return.

Factor in the production that Rodriguez and Granderson should bring to the lineup alongside Jeter, and it’s going to be an upset if the Yankees don’t manage four runs per game in the second half. If anything, they should be able to close the gap between them and the American League average of 4.42 runs per game.

The Yankees’ offense will still be pathetic in light of the Bronx Bombers offenses of old, to be sure. But since they’ve managed to stick in the race with a lousy offense, the Yankees have to like their chances of doing better than merely sticking in the race with an improved offense.

At the very least, they might be able to get people to start watching their games again. 

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Between 2004 and 2012, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were fixtures on the left side of the New York Yankees infield.

But significant injuries now threaten their baseball careers, or at least their futures as everyday players.

On Thursday, general manager Brian Cashman reluctantly informed us that the latest setback in Jeter’s recovery from a fractured ankle will keep him sidelined past the All-Star break (via Bryan Hoch, MLB.com). He made a similar approximation about A-Rod’s return following the third baseman’s offseason hip surgery. 

Will Carroll, Bleacher Report’s own injury expert, interprets the “positive steps” made by Jeter in spring training as an indication that he’ll be back in pinstripes this summer. He added, “Jeter’s fracture was not as complicated as the injuries to Buster Posey or Stephen Drew,” who were involved in home-plate collisions in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Bob Klapisch of The Record exudes less optimism. He reminisces about Joe DiMaggio’s bone spurs in 1949 that led to his retirement two seasons later. Klapisch salutes Jeter’s determination—his “desire to win”—while noting that Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS may have been his final major league contest.

ESPN’s Buster Olney wondered which other old position players returned to prominence after long absences (Insider access required).

Elias Sports programmer/analyst Kevin Hines responded with the following table. It includes all MLB players over the past 100 years who missed at least half their teams’ games at age 38 or older yet eventually became regulars again (400-plus plate appearances):

Olney is skeptical that the Yankees captain can join the list:

The lessons drawn from historical precedent suggest players of his age — Jeter will be 39 by the time he would return after the All-Star break — almost never come back after a year of diminished playing time.

Let’s say Jeter doesn’t make it back to the Bronx in 2013. He would still have 9.5 million reasons to continue rehabbing this coming winter, according to Baseball Prospectus.

His 2014 player option—originally valued at $8 million—swelled by $1.5 million when he won the Silver Slugger at shortstop last season. Though Jeter hasn’t settled for a seven-figure salary since 1999, doing so under such circumstances would be a no-brainer, especially because his earnings could balloon to $17 million by reaching certain award-based incentives.

And the Yankees will genuinely encourage him. Their only other major league-ready alternative at the position, Eduardo Nunez, is a lesser offensive threat and an abominable fielder.

Cashman could attempt to fill the void with a free-agent signing, but the crop of available shortstops projects to be pretty weak:

Meanwhile, neither team executives nor many fans would care to see Alex Rodriguez back at the hot corner. He is strikeout-prone, “un-clutch” and simply annoying.

Back in January, Daily News writers Bill Madden, Christian Red and Teri Thompson claimed the 37-year-old was “unlikely to ever wear the pinstripes again.” Rodriguez’s ailing hip and monstrous contract render him immovable via trade, but baseball sources suggested that a cash settlement or outright retirement could bring an end to this soured relationship.

Forget about the latter. New York owes him $114 million provided he doesn’t formally quit, so why would he? To salvage his reputation? No, this month’s leak from The New York Times was a knockout blow. His alleged attempt to purchase documents from Biogenesis, the anti-aging clinic/performance-enhancing drug distributor, was beyond pathetic.

If Major League Baseball’s investigation finds irrefutable evidence of A-Rod’s PED usage, then they’ll obviously suspend him. 

But can he return to the Yankees lineup before then? Manager Joe Girardi tells MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that rehab is gradually progressing:

Alex Rodriguez told Joe Girardi that he is now able to run slowly on a treadmill. “He was pretty fired up about that,” Girardi said.

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 13, 2013

I repeat: gradually. There’s no hurry to accelerate the post-All-Star break timetable just yet.

And even if Rodriguez makes it all the way back, why would Girardi insert him at third base? Kevin Youkilis has softer hands and better flexibility than any geezer with a busted hip. Rather, we would likely see the sport’s active home run leader platooning with designated hitter Travis Hafner or pinch-hitting.

The question was, “Will we ever see Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez left side of Yankees infield again?” The answer is maybe.

Perhaps there’s a 30 percent chance of both men rejoining the team this summer and being active at the same time and convincing Girardi that they can handle their longtime defensive assignments. But while Jeter is likely to exercise his 2014 option, count on ownership arranging a buyout of Rodriguez’s contract, regardless of what we learn about Biogenesis.

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