Yankees reportedly will pay for Dwight Gooden's rehab; he says he doesn't need it (UPDATE)

Joe Rodgers

Yankees reportedly will pay for Dwight Gooden's rehab; he says he doesn't need it (UPDATE) image

UPDATE: Gooden told Newsday on Tuesday night he doesn't need rehab "or anything like that" because he hasn't used cocaine since March 11, 2012. Gooden spoke with the newspaper after an autograph session at a Long Island mall. He also said he had a physical three weeks ago and the results were good. "Not perfect. But as perfect as can be for my age," he was quoted as saying. Newsday also reported Mets COO Jeff Wilpon was in touch with Gooden on Tuesday.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

As concerns from Darryl Strawberry grow about a possible drug relapse by his former teammate Dwight Gooden, one of the duo's former clubs is willing to step in to help. 

The Yankees, with whom Gooden won two World Series championships in 1996 and 2000, would pay for a rehab stint should Gooden choose to attend as his well-being spirals over a cocaine problem many believe is out of control.

"The Yankees saw the story," Strawberry said, via the New York Daily News,"and called me and said, 'What can we do to help?' A lot of individuals have reached out to me too, but for the Yankees to show that type of support to Doc, I'm very grateful to them for that."

MORE: Memorable Mets moments — Doc, Darryl and the '86 Mets

Gooden, 51, is clean and sober for five years by his account, but said in 2014 he never expected to make it to age 50. Earlier this summer he called every sober day “joyous," tracing back to seven months he did in a Florida prison in 2006 for violating drug-related probation and five years after that, when he entered a rehab facility in Manhattan.

The Yankees declined to comment to the News on the potential financial contribution to Gooden's rehabilitation. 

Strawberry, the subject of the ESPN "30 for 30" film “Doc and Darryl,” says his fears reached a peak Thursday night after the former ace missed a scheduled event hosted by a radio station in New York. 

"Doc" called out Strawberry on Monday for displaying a lack of "character and strength" with those comments, saying, "I was there for him, he obviously was never there for me."

Joe Rodgers