New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, believing that the team is misrepresenting his quadriceps injury simply to collect insurance money, had a second opinion on his injury that confirmed he is healthy.
Michael L. Gross, chief of the division of sports Medicine and the orthopedic director of The Sports Medicine Institute at Hackensack University, told WFAN on Wednesday that Rodriguez has no injury.
“To be perfectly honest,” Gross told host Mike Francesa, “I don’t see any sort of injury there.”
Rodriguez, who’s earning $28 million this season, was scheduled to be activated Monday for the first time this season after undergoing January hip surgery. Yet, the Yankees ordered him to undergo an MRI exam in New York where he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strained quadriceps, keeping him sidelined at least another week to 10 days.
General manager Brian Cashman released a statement Wednesday night firing back at Rodriguez.
“I heard via a text message this afternoon from Alex Rodriguez that he had retained a doctor to review his medical situation. In media reports, we have since learned that the doctor in question has acknowledged that he did not examine Mr. Rodriguez and that he was not retained to do a comprehensive medical examination of Mr. Rodriguez. Contrary to the Basic Agreement, Mr. Rodriguez did not notify us at any time that he was seeking a second opinion from any doctor with regard to his quad strain.”
Cashman said Rodriguez told him July 12 that he had “tightness” in his quadriceps and reported “stiffness” on Sunday, saying he should not play Sunday or Monday. It was at that point Rodriguez was sent to have an MRI exam.
“As always, we will follow the rules and regulations set forth in the Basic Agreement, and will again re-evaluate Alex in Tampa tomorrow, as our goal is to return him to the lineup as soon as he is medically capable of doing so,” Cashman said.
Rodriguez reported Wednesday to the Yankees’ spring-training facility in Tampa.
The Yankees have not determined whether they will attempt to send Rodriguez on another rehab assignment, but he is adamantly opposed to go on another 20-day assignment, according to a person close to Rodriguez but unauthorized to speak publicly.
Rodriguez’s medical status has been an ongoing point of contention. When Rodriguez tweeted news he was cleared to begin a July rehab assignment, it elicited a profane response from general manager Brian Cashman. Yankees president Randy Levine has vehemently denied insinuations the club would prefer Rodriguez to be declared physically unfit to play.
“We do want him back,” Levine told USA TODAY Sports two days before Rodriguez’s quad injury emerged. “We just want to make sure he’s ready to come back. If he’s healthy, he’s coming back.”
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