Cashman: A-rod should ‘shut up’

Alex Rodriguez on Tuesday night posted on his verified Twitter account that his hip surgeon over the weekend gave him “the green light to play games again!”

But the New York Yankees have not cleared their third baseman to play in minor league rehab games, and general manager Brian Cashman reacted angrily to Rodriguez’s tweet, according to ESPN New York.

“You know what, when the Yankees want to announce something, (we will),” Cashman told ESPN. “Alex should just shut ... up. That’s it. I’m going to call Alex now.”

Earlier in the day, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Rodriguez was progressing in his rehab from hip surgery. But he repeated what Cashman had said on Monday: The Yankees have not cleared A-Rod to begin playing games.

“He’s in games until they decide that he’s ready to go out on rehab,” Girardi said. “It’s not yet. I’m sure as soon as he is, we’ll let you know.”

Rodriguez’s apparent desire to speed up the clock first became public in a published report on Monday that said he had been cleared by his medical team to play next Monday for the Yankees’ Class A Tampa farm team.

But Cashman, who could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday night, disputed the story. “We have not set a timeline for him,” Cashman told Newsday on Monday. “He’s getting close, but no one has talked to me about when.”

The Yankees don’t want to start him in games until their own medical staff approves. Once he appears in a game that charges admission, a 20-day clock starts. After 20 days, he would have to be activated.

If A-Rod plays in simulated games, the 20-day clock does not begin. That’s the usual procedure for a player who is coming back from a major injury.