From Marc Carig of the NJ Star Ledger
BALTIMORE — The Yankees could have their backup catcher back as soon as next week’s homestand.
Francisco Cervelli continues to make good progress in his rehab from a broken left foot he suffered during spring training. Cervelli is scheduled to catch Saturday for Class-A Tampa, Fla., his second appearance behind the plate after catching eight innings in a game Thursday.
If all goes well, the Yankees will be in position to decide when to activate him from the disabled list.
"He’s doing pretty good," manager Joe Girardi said. "My thought process is, when he feels ready, we’ll have him back."
When Cervelli returns Molina, the power hitting catcher that has only played in one game this season, will likely be demoted, and/or designated for assignment.
Molina only made the club in the first place due to the Yankees not wanting to carry a top prospect catcher as a backup to Russell Martin, the starter.
With Molina as the backup, Russell Martin has played every inning of every Yankees game except for the nine innings in the Yankees 5-2 win over the Rangers on April 16th.
Francisco Cervelli hit .271/.359/.335 as the Yankees backup catcher last season, and was nearly traded for Russell Martin this offseason, before the Dodgers decided against the deal. This enabled the Yankees to sign Martin and keep Cervelli.