Derek Jeter Likely Headed to Disabled List, Reports Say

by Ben Watanabe on Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 2:29PM

The New York Yankees appear to be leaning toward placing shortstop Derek Jeter on the disabled list.

Several reports out of New York indicate Jeter is unlikely to play Tuesday night against the Cleveland Indians if the team is not completely comfortable with the results from an examination of his Grade 1 calf strain, and that a DL stint is possible because the Yankees need all the healthy bodies they can find for their upcoming stretch of interleague games.

Because teams do not use the designated hitter in National League cities, keeping an injured player on the roster could hamper manager Joe Girardi's options.

At the same time, the Yankees' marketing department has been promoting Jeter's slow procession to 3,000 career hits and the 36-year-old shortstop is a box office draw for opponents.

"I'm worried about it," Girardi told the New York Post on Monday. "It's frustrating. He's six hits away [from 3,000]. You would have hoped that he could have done it in this homestand. For our team, it's frustrating. It's our leadoff guy."

Eduardo Nunez, 23, would most likely fill in at shortstop and Brett Gardner would slide into the leadoff spot.