Via Kat O’Brien -

Jorge Posada is nearing a rehab assignment. Posada (right rotator cuff tendinitis) threw from 120 feet Friday, the longest distance he has attempted since being put on the DL April 27, and will head to Tampa once this homestand ends Sunday. He might begin at DH or by catching in extended spring training without throwing to the bases.

“We’ve talked about the possibility of his catching games and swinging the bat but not throwing,” Brian Cashman said.

Joe Girardi said, “It speeds up the process of maybe getting his legs in shape.”

“Sometime in the first two weeks of June would be something we’d be hopeful for,” Cashman said. “Is that realistic? I don’t know yet.”

The bummer here is that the Yankees play inter-league games from June 13th through June 29th – and nine of those games are on the road. So, if the Yankees had hoped (as I have heard) to catch Posada twice a week (when he returns) and have him D.H. the rest of the time, those N.L. road games will be a thorn in New York’s side.

We may not get Posada’s bat back into the line-up, on a full-time basis, until July.