TAMPA, Fla. -- Curtis Granderson's tenure as the Yankees' left fielder lasted all of one half-inning, a fact that manager Joe Girardi made clear to the slugger after he fractured his right forearm.
Granderson said that he stopped by Girardi's office to ask for permission to fly home on Monday's off-day. Girardi granted the request and also had a tidbit of news to offer for Granderson, who is expected to return to the lineup in May.
"He goes, 'Just so you know, when you come back, you'll be back in center,'" Granderson said. "I was like, 'Oh, OK.' That was the quickness of the conversation. That was it, and then I heard about it from everybody else and people were asking what I thought about it. We talked about it for literally five seconds and that was it."
Girardi said that because of the Feb. 24 injury, he does not believe Granderson will have enough time to adapt to playing left field. Girardi suggested he would have liked to have given Granderson 20 to 25 games in Spring Training to adjust.
"I would have played him predominantly in left for a while," Girardi said. "I know he can play center."
Granderson agreed that if he were to make a shift to left field, he would have had to play the position extensively during the spring.
"I couldn't just go in cold," Granderson said. "I want to go back to center, so I'm excited that's the news. I'd just rather go there, but if they said they needed to do something, we would entertain it and go from there. But I'm excited to get back to center."
Granderson also said that he is not worried about how the Yankees' April lineup will look if it lacks both his bat and that of Mark Teixeira, who suffered a strained right wrist on Tuesday.
"I think we can win without the power," Granderson said. "The power has always been something that you have and it's a great luxury to have it, but you've got to go ahead and manufacture and score runs when you can. We've got some speed with Ichiro [Suzuki] and [Brett] Gardner there.
"We still have pieces that can move in to allow us to win ballgames without having to hit as many home runs, and those guys can hit home runs. It's not like we're completely shut out in that category."
Jeter: Spring injuries better than later in season
TAMPA, Fla. -- If you had to wager your paycheck on which member of the Yankees would spot the silver lining in the team's growing list of spring injuries, Derek Jeter seems to be the ideal choice.
"It might be a good thing. Get them all out of the way, you hope," Jeter said. "It's better to have them early as opposed to late, but I always try to look at the positive in things."
Mark Teixeira is out eight to 10 weeks with a strained tendon in his right wrist, and before Jeter knew the extent of the injury, he was already prepared for the possibility of the Yankees having to get by for a time without their first baseman.
"The good teams find a way to get it done, and that's what you're going to have to do," Jeter said. "In terms of Tex, hopefully he's not out long."
The Yankees have already had too much activity in the trainer's room this spring. In addition to Curtis Granderson and Teixeira, Phil Hughes is questionable to start the season with a bulging disk and Boone Logan has been unable to pitch because of left elbow soreness.
Even Cashman joined the crowd, fracturing his right fibula and dislocating his right ankle in a skydiving stunt to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project on Monday.
Just about the only morsel of good news was that Ichiro Suzuki escaped injury when his SUV was totaled in a traffic collision last week. Those maladies were added to the list of rehabbing players in camp, which include Jeter (left ankle), Mariano Rivera (right knee) and CC Sabathia (left elbow).
"Every team goes through it," Jeter said. "Look at Boston; they went through a lot of injuries last year. Every team goes through injuries. You just have to find a way to overcome it. We went through some injuries last year, but we were able to overcome them.
"That's a normal part of the year. It's something that people never take into consideration when they try to figure out who has the best team or who's going to win. It's part of the game."
As for Cashman's injury, Jeter said that the GM's experience with the U.S. Army Golden Knights clinched that you will never hear about the Yankees' captain seeking his thrills with a parachute.
"That just confirms that I will never jump out of an airplane," Jeter said. "It's a freak thing, man. That's scary. I have a scooter and a wheelchair if he wants to use it."
Robertson will rest aching right shoulder
TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees reliever David Robertson said that he slept awkwardly on his right shoulder, which forced him to be scratched from a scheduled appearance out of the bullpen on Tuesday against the Braves.
Manager Joe Girardi and bullpen coach Mike Harkey shut Robertson down as a precaution and he was checked out by a team doctor.
Robertson had been listed on the travel roster for Thursday against the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., but Girardi told the YES Network that Robertson will not pitch in that game.
"It's not soreness," Robertson said. "Have you ever slept on your side and woke up and your shoulder didn't feel right? That's basically what it felt like."
General manager Brian Cashman had termed Robertson's situation as a "low-level concern," but the right-hander said it should be considered no concern at all.
"If it's the regular season, I'm pitching right through it," Robertson said. "I wouldn't even think twice about it. I've pitched on worse days."
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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