TAMPA — Paul Goldschmidt was not in the Yankees lineup on Friday as originally expected, but he's not worried yet.
The veteran baseman said he expects to return to game action on Saturday on Friday morning.
“We talked about giving it another day,” Goldschmidt said before exercising at Stein Brenner Field. “My back is basically 100%, or very, very close. So, I was able to play three games before the opening day, whether I'd play three games before the opening day, one of the next two games, one of the next two games, and one on the weekend.
Goldschmidt, 37, has repeatedly said he hasn't been worried about availability for next Thursday opening day, and that he will not stop him if this is the regular season.
“To be honest, there might be spring training — I don't call it an injury — something that hurts a little, something weird during the regular season, your mind is the same as 'Oh, I'm going to play,'” Goldschmidt said. “But when you know you're preparing for something in the future, it's a bit different to trying to measure how aggressive you are, but I think we're taking a little more conservative approach.
“But I think I'm going to come in. Maybe I didn't play one game I might have been playing and I still managed to get a bat. [Thursday in live batting practice]. I'll get some today. Continue building the opening day and the entire regular season. ”
Goldschmidt reached .313 with 1.076 OPS in 32 at-bats this spring, following a year down with the Cardinals.
Clark Schmidt felt better on Friday, the day after threw 32 pitches in a live batting practice session.
However, the right-hander, slowed down by shoulder fatigue, admitted that starting the sixth game of the season was “hard” because of where his pitch is, as the Yankees had hoped for first.
Instead, we hope he will start the season with an injured list to finish his accumulation in Tampa.
“We may be a bit handcuffed,” Schmidt said Friday morning. “But I don't think we're too far. It's obviously easy to use. But most importantly, I think it's good to feel good after going out.”
Schmidt expects to pitch again (potentially in minor league games) on Tuesday.
Typically, the starter adds about 7-10 pitches to each outing during ramp up. He hopes to score 65-70 before he re-enters the rotation.
