Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Torres (hip) could be ready to begin a minor-league rehab assignment during the upcoming All-Star break, Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News reports. "Maybe it's [July 18], maybe it's the day after," Boone said while speculating on a target date for Torres to begin the assignment. "Those are discussions that we'll have especially if it's on the shorter side of things and he's good to go."
Torres is eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list Sunday, but with the break beginning a day later, the Yankees seem inclined to give the star rookie the extra time off to recover from the strained right hip. The 21-year-old hasn't experienced any reported setbacks since suffering the injury July 4, so he'll likely only require one or two games in the minors before being cleared to return to the big club. Once he's activated, Torres should settle back into an everyday role at second base, pushing Neil Walker and Brandon Drury to the bench more frequently.