Derek Jeter returned from his stint on the disabled list, but the Yankees will now be without another star player for more than a month, as Alex Rodriguez will undergo knee surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for four to six weeks, the team announced Sunday.
Rodriguez has been suffering from a slight meniscus tear in his right knee, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that now is the "ideal" time to surgically repair it, with the team heading into the four-day All-Star break.
Although he was selected to the American League All-Star team, Rodriguez's stats this year have been lackluster compared to his usual performance. Through 80 games, A-Rod is batting just .295 with 52 RBIs and 13 home runs — none coming in his last 85 at-bats, the longest such drought of his career.
The Yankees' hopes are that, with surgery and some time off, their star third baseman will be back to his power-hitting form in time for the stretch run.
"It's hard to get into missing 20, 30, 40 games when you don't know, but at the same time you don't want to limp toward the finish line," Rodriguez said. "The most important games are played at the end."
