NEW YORK -- Nine days since being placed on the 10-day disabled list, Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has not been cleared to resume baseball activities.
Bird was originally expected to rest for seven to 10 days with no baseball activities. He was placed on the DL on May 2 with a bruised right ankle that had been ailing him since fouling a ball off it in an exhibition game on March 30.
"We said seven to 10 days, and it may be more," manager Joe Girardi said. "Bone bruises are tricky, so you don't really ever know."
Despite the initial report that he'd be ready to resume baseball activities by now, Bird said he wasn't sure how long it would take when he first went on the DL. Once he resumes activities, he doesn't know exactly how long it'll take for him to return to the lineup.
"I wouldn't guess too too long, but that's kind of up to them to decide," Bird said. "I feel like the nature of the injury is just it takes its time. As far as timetables go, I wish I had something more, but I really don't. It's just every day, see how it feels and reacts to what we've been doing.
"The toughest part is not playing. Sometimes you don't know and that's what you have to deal with."
Following Bird's monster Spring Training in which he hit .451 with eight home runs, the 24-year-old first baseman was 6-for-60 (.100) in 19 games this season before he was placed on the DL. His initial injury came in the Yankees' last exhibition game in Florida, though Bird didn't blame his slow regular-season start on his ankle.
Because he isn't cleared for baseball activities, most of the exercises Bird have been doing has dealt with strengthening the ankle and the muscles around it. A lot of what he does is in the weight room, he said, though he did swim Thursday. Bird has yet to run since being placed on the DL, but he said the ankle feels a lot better and the swelling has gone down.
"We've made good progress," Bird said. "But the plan basically is no baseball until I feel 100 percent ready to go. There's still progress to be made there."