ARod could rejoin Yanks before May

Slugger feeling 70 percent healthy during his rehab' lineup

By Tom Singer / MLB.com

04/05/2009 4:50 PM ET

Alex Rodriguez is making such a quick recovery from his March 9 hip surgery that he could rejoin the New York Yankees well ahead of the original May 15 target date.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, who speaks daily with the third baseman who is rehabilitating in Colorado, told the New York Post that A-Rod has begun to take batting practice and is "feeling 70 percent."

The newspaper also cited an unnamed team official as speculating that Rodriguez could be back on the field by late April.

Rodriguez is scheduled to change his training base to Tampa, Fla., on April 13, which would give Yankees brass a perfect opportunity to evaluate his progress. The Yankees will visit the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series beginning on the same day.

Said general manager Brian Cashman: "Everything is going well. He's working extremely hard. Everything is going as planned."

Long reported that Rodriguez is also lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, working out in a pool and doing range-of-motion drills.

In his absence, Cody Ransom will be the Yankees' Opening Day third baseman, after batting .280 with two homers and nine RBIs in 28 spring games.