Right-hander David Aardsma will make a minor league rehab appearance with High-A Tampa tomorrow, he confirmed. The 30-year-old has been shut down since late-June after suffering a setback in his return from Tommy John and hip surgery. Depending on who you ask, he either will or won’t return to the big leagues this season. Alex Rodriguez will play in that game as well.

If we’ve learned anything from Joba Chamberlain this month, it’s that you can’t count on pitchers returning from elbow surgery to be productive right away. Command is usually the last thing to come back, and Aardsma wasn’t exactly Mariano Rivera in that department to begin with. The minor league regular season ends next week, though the Triple-A and Double-A affiliates have already clinched playoff spots. Any rehab assignments could continue there. If Aardsma can get healthy and actually join the bullpen when rosters expand next month, there’s really nothing for he or the team to lose.

Right-hander David Aardsma threw 35 pitches in a live batting practice session today, including some sliders that he says had “good action.” The plan is for him to throw a simulated game on Tuesday, assuming the weather in Tampa allows.

Aardsma, 30, is working his way back from the setback he suffered in June following Tommy John and hip surgery. Depending on who you ask, he either will or won’t be able to join the big league bullpen this September. Considering that he still needs to get in some actual minor league rehab games despite the season ending in less than two weeks, Aardsma will be cutting it real close if he wants to come back this year.

August 7th: For what it’s worth, Aardsma says he is “fully expecting” to return this season. He made 50 throws from 60-feet on flat ground yesterday as part of his rehab. As with most injuries of this nature, I’m in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” camp.

August 6th: Via Andrew Marchand, right-hander David Aardsma is not expected to return this season. The 30-year-old suffered a setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery back in June. VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman confirmed that the plan is to get him healthy for next season.

The Yankees signed Aardsma to a one-year deal worth $500k last offseason, and the contract includes a club option worth another $500k for next season. That’s essentially the league minimum and there’s no reason for them not to pick it up. Aardsma’s a hard-throwing, high-strikeout guy when healthy, and there’s no such thing as having too many of those guys in the bullpen. Even if he flops, it’s a no-risk move at that price.

Via Mark Feinsand, two doctors have recommended that right-hander David Aardsma rest for two more weeks before beginning a throwing program. He was shut down after feeling pain in his surgically repaired elbow about two weeks ago. Given this new timetable, there’s basically zero chance Aardsma will be able to join the bullpen before rosters expand in September. For shame.