Major League Baseball

Report: A-Rod not ready to return

Published Jun. 27, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman wants Alex Rodriguez to know that a doctor clearing him to play doesn't mean the third baseman can just hop back on the field.

Apparently, Rodriguez agrees - just not the way everyone thought.

In a week full of firestorms after Rodriguez said a doctor had cleared him to play and Cashman angrily retorted that the team would decide that, Rodriguez has now told the Yankees that he is not ready to take the field, the New York Post reports. This coincides with an ESPN NEW York reports saying Rodriguez thinks the Yankees are trying to delay his return so they can skip out on his contract and collect insurance money instead.

The Post says Rodriguez told Yankees officials Wednesday that he can't start his rehab time in the minor leagues because his surgically repaired hip isn't ready.

"He is not ready to play in games," the Post reports a source as saying. "He is worried about his health."

The Yankees and Rodriguez were said to have smoothed over the dispute via phone calls Wednesday night, with Cashman publicly apologizing for his outburst.