Bombers bits

• Yankees ace CC Sabathia will pitch in a game at the Yankees' Minor League complex on Wednesday while the big league club faces the Red Sox. Sabathia will likely make his final appearance of the spring on March 26 against the Astros -- Girardi said it would be a "heavy workload day" -- then start on Opening Day against the Red Sox.

• Ronnier Mustelier, competing for a roster spot, returned to the lineup Tuesday and went 0-for-2. He had been sidelined since Friday after suffering multiple leg bruises while chasing down a fly ball. Mustelier said through an interpreter Tuesday morning that he was feeling "a lot better" and that he believes he still has enough time to prove he deserves a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster.

"I feel good," he said. "Ten days are enough to show what I can do."

• Left-hander Clay Rapada, who's been shut down for nearly two weeks due to bursitis in his throwing shoulder, is playing catch. His status for Opening Day has not been determined.

• Robinson Cano, currently playing with the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, should fly back to Florida on Wednesday and rejoin the Yankees on Thursday. Girardi said he would check in with the second baseman, who's been swinging a hot bat in the Classic, before deciding when to put him back in the lineup.

"I've got to see how he's doing physically," Girardi said. "I know he's playing a lot of nine-inning games. I know he's getting a lot of good at-bats. I don't want him to waste too many more hits."

• Left-hander Andy Pettitte and closer Mariano Rivera pitched in Minor League games on the Yankees' off-day Monday. Pettitte gave up two runs on eight hits while striking out seven, while Rivera struck out four batters over two innings.