ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Injured New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius said Monday that he believes he will be back in the starting lineup before the regular season ends.
"Yes," Gregorius said at his Tropicana Field locker, affirmatively answering a reporter's question about his belief in a return. "Before the end of the season."
Following Monday's series opener at Tampa Bay, the Yankees, who are still pushing for home-field advantage in the American League wild-card race, have six games remaining.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was encouraged by Gregorius' optimism, which backed up similar comments the 28-year-old infielder made Sunday at Yankee Stadium. Still, Boone isn't quite as confident about the speed of a potential return.
"I mean, he felt significantly better, and [with] just some of the range-of-motion things he's able to do," Boone said. "But I also would temper it. The true indicator will come Wednesday when he gets re-evaluated."
After tearing cartilage in his right wrist on a daring headfirst slide that won Saturday's game over the Orioles and clinched the Yankees a spot in the wild-card game, Gregorius was administered a cortisone shot following an MRI on Sunday.
Gregorius said he felt fine when he went home following the celebrations that ensued after Saturday's slide. It was when he woke up Sunday morning that he started feeling sore.
The follow-up Gregorius has with doctors later this week could give the Yankees a clearer idea of when the shortstop might be able to play again.
Part of the reason he believes he'll be playing sooner than later is the shot he received. Gregorius said Monday that it helped ease the soreness.
"It's my first time doing it," Gregorius said of the cortisone shot. "It's feeling stronger, and I'll get some exercises in. We'll wait and see what's going to happen."
During the Yankees' early batting practice Monday, cameras caught Gregorius sporting a massive wrap over his right wrist. While speaking to reporters with a smaller, dramatically thinner wrap, Gregorius said he had been icing the wrist during batting practice. He'll be primarily wearing the wrap moving forward, he said, while working on strengthening his wrist with a grip.
Still, Boone is practicing patience.
"We'll see how it really does, and then if we're able to start baseball activities from there, seeing how it takes when he gets a ball and bat in his hands," Boone said. "But at least [Monday], another sign of optimism. So we'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."