Mark Teixeira Says He Won’t Be Back by May 1 Target, Acknowledges Injured Wrist Not Ready for Hitting

Yankees fans will have to enjoy the Lyle Overbay show just a little bit longer.

Mark Teixeira says he won’t be playing by May 1, the date originally given as an optimistic target for his return from a right wrist injury.

“Obviously, I was being as optimistic as I could,” he told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “I wish that the very first time I swung a bat, I’d be like, ‘Wow, I feel 100 percent.’ But the chances of that happening weren’t there, but I was always going to hope for that and prepare for that.”

Teixeira said he has been taking dry swings from both sides of the plate, but the wrist is still balky enough that he isn’t hitting balls yet. He first hurt the tendon sheath in his right wrist when hitting off a tee in March.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasn’t rushing his switch-hitting first baseman back.

“I’ve said all along: This is probably the most unpredictable one,” he said of his team’s many injuries. “… Wrists are really tricky. You go day by day, week by week, and you see how he’s doing. Eventually, if you can get him in games, you have a much better idea.”

The Yankees are also without shortstop Derek Jeter (recovering from a broken ankle), third baseman Alex Rodriguez (hip surgery) and Curtis Granderson (broken arm).

Overbay signed with New York just before the season began and has been taking care of first base. The 36-year-old is batting just .234.