General manager Brian Cashman said that Mariano Rivera will not return this season, despite recent reports that the closer could attempt to pitch later on in the year.
Cashman revealed the bad news during a radio appearance on SiriusXM radio. He said that as much as he wishes Rivera could return for the team's stretch run, the reports were ultimately the result of some unprofessionalism on the part of Rivera's physical therapist.
"No. I mean, his physical therapist that he's working with, I thought was unprofessional and went public with things," Cashman said. "I mean, medical personnel should be quiet. And it's not our physical therapist, it's someone he's got that we've signed off on. But those guys should not be doing interviews and he provided an interview that was, you know, not a fair reflection of where this player's at. His over-enthusiasm, I thought, provided improper information. He's not coming back this year and I wish he was, I wish he was, but unfortunately people get excited.
"They want to get their name out there for whatever reason and so he got a day in the sun, but he'll be proven wrong in the end unfortunately," Cashman continued. "So, he got all our fans excited and a lot more media attention for myself to deal with, but he's not coming back this year. I wish he was."
In the therapist's defense, Rivera also said last week that pitching in September was his goal, even if he couldn't at the time fully commit to a return. In hindsight, however, it looks like this was just a case of both Rivera and his physical therapist getting a little too excited about the progress he's made thus far.
Rivera, who is baseball's all-time saves leader, tore his right ACL on May 3 while shagging flyballs in the outfield before a game in Kansas City. He eventually underwent surgery on June 12.
