Alex Rodriguez's injured left thumb is unlikely to heal completely this season. "He's got a Grade I sprain and it's not going to go away completely this season," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "It only goes away with time which is not something that's necessarily in our favor." New York manager Joe Girardi hinted that Rodriguez would play on Friday night in Toronto, but the third baseman sounded less optimistic. "I don't want to mislead you guys, but I haven't touched a bat in five days," he said. "Maybe (Girardi) is more confident than me. Hopefully, that plan works out." Cashman said Rodriguez's injury was not likely to require offseason surgery. "It's a sprained collateral ligament and it's more of an irritating thing than anything else," Cashman said. "It could take six days, or 15 days, or 30 days, and even if he feels 100 percent, one wrong move or one bad swing or checked swing or dive or whatever could bring it right back to square one again. It's just something he's going to have to deal with."