TAMPA, Fla. -- Joe Girardi is giving the Yankees a day off from workouts on Tuesday so that he can stage his annual TBE -- that's Team Bonding Experience -- and it couldn't come at a better time for a couple of his pitchers and at least three of his position players.
1. Nathan Eovaldi is sore: The hard-throwing right-hander, who is being counted on as the No. 2 or 3 starter, is being set back a little bit by what the Yankees are calling "tightness'' in his groin. Eovaldi, who did not start after Sept. 5 last season due to a forearm strain, has yet to throw off a mound this spring, although Girardi said he would throw a bullpen when the team returns to work on Wednesday. Girardi said that while he is "not concerned'' about the injury, it will move Eovaldi's schedule back a few days. Still, the manager said he expects Eovaldi to be able to make the customary six spring training starts before Opening Day.
2. Chasen Shreve's back ... : is a minor concern after he got hit by a line drive off the bat of Aaron Hicks in a morning live BP session. It happened on the back field when the Yankees clubhouse was open to the media and thus, largely unseen, including by the manager. Shreve did not appear in the afternoon clubhouse session but according to Girardi, "They said he was OK. His session was basically over so they just stopped it, but I have not seen him yet.''
3. Brett Gardner still hasn't hit: And he won't until Wednesday at least. Gardner, still suffering the effects of a bone bruise on his left wrist suffered in the wild-card loss to Houston in October, has had a couple of tee-and-toss sessions in the indoor batting cage but has yet to face live pitching. Girardi said he was scheduled to do so in the cage, but not on the field, on Wednesday.
4. No A-Rod or Carlos Beltran in Wednesday's opener?: A real possibility. On Sunday, Girardi said he might give his two aging sluggers "a few more days'' before putting them in a lineup, and he said virtually nothing had changed on Monday. "I'm doing a little research on that through some back channels to see how they feel,'' Girardi said. "I will not have all the starters in there, I can tell you that. There are some guys that probably sit a couple more days.” It probably means nothing, but the fact Rodriguez might not play is a bit of a surprise considering Girardi has said he is further along this spring than he was last spring. And he did start last year's spring opener.
5. To hill with the media: Because there's no workout on Tuesday, a group of writers asked strength and conditioning coach Matt Krause, whose brainchild Mt. Krause stands proudly on one of the back fields, to put them through the hill workout he has devised for the Yankees players. Presumably, that will happen after Girardi's media session at 11 a.m. Tune in for a full report from one of the participants. This one.