While public sentiment likely isn't very high on Jason Giambi after he revealed using steroids leaked grand jury testimony, New York Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera will welcome the slugger back once spring training starts.
"It'll work fine. Jason made a mistake, obviously. Everyone makes mistakes. He's got to deal with it," Jeter told the New York Daily News. "So it's an unfortunate situation, and you feel for him because he's going through it, but if he's back with us -- he's on our team, so I would expect him to be back - you've got to support him."
Added Rivera: "I always support all of my teammates. He made a mistake, but he was man enough to admit it."
Both players expect Giambi ready to play All-Star caliber baseball by spring training.
"I think he's healthy, from what I've heard," said Jeter. "He had a rough year last year, going through a lot of things, but when he's healthy he's one of the best players in baseball. So we look forward to him doing the same thing."
The 30-year-old Jeter said that MLB should get more strict with its steroid testing policies to "clean up" the game.
"They're going to make efforts," he said. "It's something now that, if guys hit home runs, everyone is going to say, 'Well, this guy is on steroids or that guy is on steroids.' I think that's a little bit unfair. But I think we're making efforts to clean up."