CT scan on Jeter's left ankle comes back negative
NEW YORK -- A precautionary CT scan on Derek Jeter's left ankle came back negative after he was removed from Saturday's 13-9 loss to the Red Sox.
Jeter was removed from the game for a pinch-runner after his sixth-inning RBI single because manager Joe Girardi said he "didn't like the way he was running," and wanted to protect him.
The Yankees are concerned with his surgically repaired left ankle, not the right leg injuries that caused him to go on the disabled list twice this season. General manager Brian Cashman said the CT scan is just precautionary "to make sure that there's nothing going on that should be concerning."
The results will be sent to Dr. Robert Anderson -- the Charlotte, N.C., based physician who performed Jeter's ankle surgery in October -- as an extra precaution.
"It's not what you want," Girardi said. "It's what we've had to deal with a lot this year. Hopefully he's OK tomorrow and he can play or somehow contribute."
Jeter has been playing with soreness off and on this season, Cashman said. He hasn't told them much about it, but Cashman said he could see it in the way he's moving around.
Cashman and Girardi said they both thought Jeter's ankle affected him on the wide throw he made to first that allowed left fielder Jonny Gomes to reach on a single in the sixth inning.
"I think the leg, its stuff he still deals with. Trying to play every day in a pennant race, if these games didn't count, he could take a few days off or his bounce backs would be different, but he's like everybody else," Cashman said. "He knows there's no time for the weary here, and he's the king of toughness as well. He's doing everything he can to get out there and play and not worry about stuff. Do I think, personally, that the leg affected the throw? I do, yeah."
Cashman said Jeter went through something similar in March. His ankle was sore, but the doctors said it was natural after surgery. They said to give him two or three days off and get him going again, but it turned out he had refractured the ankle.
The team's trainers didn't see anything that would suggest that happened again on Saturday, Cashman said, and the CT scans were negative for any issues in the ankle. But with all that Jeter has been through this season, Cashman said it was best to make sure everything was OK.
"I don't think that's anything what we're dealing with," Cashman said. "It's just, we have the opportunity because of technology to get a quick look at it to make sure there's nothing above and beyond, because you're dealing with a player that doesn't really tell you much anyway. He has a pain threshold more than anybody else, so let's just be certain there isn't anything else going on."
Jeter has played in just 17 games this season, batting .190 with a home run and seven RBIs. He missed the first three months recovering from his fractured left ankle and spent two separate stints on the disabled list while dealing with right left injuries.
"Joe didn't like the way he was running around there, and D.J. is obviously never very forthcoming with anything on that type of stuff," Cashman said. "We're just going to take a look under the hood and make sure everything is OK. If it is, you'll see him back here tomorrow. Whether he's a player for tomorrow or not, I don't know yet."