ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - David Ortiz will be in New York for the All-Star Game, but he made official yesterday what had been assumed for some time — he won’t be playing in the game thanks to his injured wrist.

Ortiz has been sidelined since the final week of May, having injured the sheath that houses a tendon in his left wrist in Baltimore. He was in a cast for several weeks and has yet to do much physically beyond swinging at balls off a tee.

He leads American League DH candidates on the ballot, with voting concluding tomorrow.

“I’m going to go to the All-Star Game,” he said, “and show respect for the fans (even though) I’m not going to be able to play. I wish I could be in the Dominican at the beach for three days, but those fans vote you to be there, so…”

Ortiz hopes to graduate to hitting soft flips this week, then move on to batting practice, and eventually, a rehab assignment.

“I’m still working my way up,” Ortiz said. “I’m feeling better every day. I’m not going to tell you when I’m going to be 100 percent because I don’t know.”

A timetable is tough to sketch out, especially since a number of minor-league affiliates may be on their own midseason break when it comes time to send Ortiz out to get some at-bats and face live hitting.

“When we get to the All-Star break,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona, “that’s probably where he’s going to start feeling like he can play. When we get toward that break, maybe we can start to turn him loose a little bit. Then again, maybe he won’t be ready.”