A-Rod works out, is mum on allegations

TAMPA, Fla. -- The publicist for Alex Rodriguez said Thursday that the Yankees third baseman "looks forward to cooperating" with Major League Baseball's investigation into his alleged involvement in illegal poker games.

The statement from Richard Rubenstein, Rodriguez's publicist, was released during A-Rod's first workout since he had arthroscopic right knee surgery July 11. Rubenstein said the Star magazine story detailing the poker allegations "contains numerous factual inaccuracies."

Before the workout, a Yankees representative told reporters that Rodriguez would not answer questions about the allegations. When asked at the end of a post-workout interview with reporters if he'd have "no comment'' on the allegations, Rodriguez politely said, "Yeah. Thank you.''

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said he wasn't aware of a meeting with Rodriguez having been officially set up, and he said there was no reaction from MLB on Rubenstein's statement. MLB said Wednesday that it plans to interview Rodriguez about his participation in the illegal poker games.

Rodriguez, who wore a soft brace on his right knee, spoke with reporters for about two minutes after working out at the Yankees' minor-league complex, saying he won't have a sense of a timeline for his return to the team until he's had about 48 hours to see how his body responds.

"It felt good. An encouraging first day out there on the field,'' said Rodriguez, who worked outside for about an hour. "I think it's important to get healthy, first and foremost. The guys are doing a great job up there, swinging the bats extremely well. My main responsibility right now is to continue to work hard and get healthy. I had a good day [Thursday], and hopefully another one [Friday].''

Rodriguez worked with minor-league assistant Pat Roessler, who handled much of Derek Jeter's on-field rehab work in late June. He took ground balls at third base but initially did so while on his knees, then with balls hit directly to him, requiring no lateral movement. Even his work off a tee in the batting cages was incremental, first with one-arm swings with his left arm, then his right, then a handful of normal swings. He finished his batting workouts taking the same steps through swings from short, underhanded tosses.

"We're going to ramp it up every day, hopefully like 5 or 10 percent more each day,'' Rodriguez said. "The next four or five days will be a big key to see when I can actually get back on the field for real.''

When asked if he wants to return to third base immediately or if he could serve as the designated hitter first, Rodriguez said, "The idea is to play third base.''

Rodriguez arrived at the complex at 11:20 a.m. He stayed more than two hours, including treatments and pool workouts. He signed autographs after his workout for a group of 30-plus fans, some of whom had waited in the Florida sun more than five hours for the chance to meet him.

With Ken Davidoff