Tampa, FL – For the first time since 2001, the New York Yankees will likely be without shortstop Derek Jeter on Opening Day, general manager Brian Cashman announced on Sunday.
Jeter, 38, is expected to be placed on the disabled list to start the season and is still experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle. He did not play in a minor league game on Sunday as a result.
According to Cashman, the veteran Yankee captain will most likely look to start the season on April 6 versus Detroit. Cashman also told reporters that Eduardo Nunez will replace Jeter as the team's everyday shortstop at the start of the season, which begins April 1 versus the Boston Red Sox.
Jeter will stay in Florida while the team heads north, to rehab and continue working on his ankle in order to prepare for the season. Jeter has appeared in 16 of the Yankees' last 17 Opening Day tilts, and last missed the start of the season due to a quadriceps injury in 2001.
Jeter fractured his ankle in Game 1 of the American League Championship series against the Detroit Tigers last fall.
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