Alex Rodriguez (13) shares a laugh with teammate Jonathan Galvez (97) in Spring Training. (
Ever since Alex Rodriguez resurfaced from a year out of the spotlight while serving his 162-game suspension for his role in Biogenesis, the questions were abundant.
Among them were how would he do facing major league pitching for the first time since Sept. 25, 2013, and how would fans react. Nobody knows for certain once the regular season begins April 6, but on Wednesday the Yankees and everyone else had their first glimpse of Rodriguez in a game setting.
As for the results, they were not awful. Rodriguez batted second and was 1 for 2 with a walk against three Philadelphia Phillies pitchers.
Before the three appearances, Rodriguez, 39, received a mostly positive reaction from the crowd at Steinbrenner Field.
—The Detroit Tigers released right-hander Joel Hanrahan from a minor league contract Wednesday after announcing he will undergo a second Tommy John surgery.
The former All-Star closer was diagnosed with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The procedure on March 18 will be Hanrahan’s second elbow surgery in less than 24 months.
Hanrahan had his right elbow ligament replaced in May 2013 while with Boston when he also had his right flexor tendon repaired. Detroit signed him to a $1 million, one-year contract last May, but he never appeared in a game. The Tigers signed him to a minor league contract in November.
Hanrahan is 22-18 with a 3.85 ERA and 100 saves in seven seasons with Washington, Pittsburgh and Boston.
—Don’t count Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz as a big fan of baseball’s new speed-up-the-game plan.
Once May hits, if he steps out of the box, he’ll be fined.
“Well, I might run out of money,” he said. “I’m not going to change my game. I don’t care what they say. … I’m going to keep it that way. It’s not like I go around and do all kinds of stupid (stuff). I’ve got to take my time to think about what those guys are going to do against me — and I’m pretty sure every single hitter at this level is on the same page. They put the rules together, but they don’t talk to us.”
—Ubaldo Jimenez is probably the biggest question mark for the Baltimore Orioles during spring training. His first spring start on Tuesday didn’t help matters.
The big right-hander lasted just 1 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers, giving up six runs, two hits with two walks plus a hitting batter in a 15-2 loss. He also had a throwing error. That’s the kind of performance that Jimenez turned in way too often last year (6-9 record, 4.81 ERA) and the reason he’s now fighting for a spot in the starting rotation.
The Orioles signed Jimenez to a four-year, $50 million contract last winter, but manager Buck Showalter yanked him from the rotation in mid-August and the right-hander didn’t pitch in the playoffs.
