The New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez will hold a press conference regarding his future with the team and we should expect an interesting announcement.
The last several weeks have been full of speculation on what the New York Yankees will do with their non-producing designated hitter, Alex Rodriguez and we will receive closure on Sunday morning.
At 11 AM, a press conference featuring the 41-slugger, general manager Brian Cashman, and manager Joe Girardi will take place at Yankee Stadium.
Rodriguez, who has received a mere seven at-bats since July 23, is in the midst of his worst season of his 22-year career with an overall slash line of .204/.252/.356 with a career-low .609 OPS.
He also has a mere nine home runs after slugging 24 dingers on this calendar day a year ago.
Has the organization finally gotten tired of seeing the three-time American League MVP eat sunflower seeds on the bench? Have they too found his occupancy on New York’s 25-man roster to be less understandable as well? All the signs positively point to it.
First of all, it’s hard to see Rodriguez walk away from $27-million remaining on his 10-year, $252.87 million contract signed back in 2008 – a deal that made him the highest-paid Major League Baseball player.
Alex Rodriguez career numbers: 3,114 hits; 696 HRs; 2,084 RBI; 2,021 runs; 329 stolen bases; 12th all-time in WAR. https://t.co/CjU3bES77I
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 7, 2016
Retiring and blowing away from $27-million is just a disturbing life choice for anyone to make, even for an athlete that has a net-worth of $300-million.
Secondly, reports have come to the surface that the release of A-Rod “could happen” before season’s end as the next chapter of the rebuilding process.
Eating that much cash is clearly something Hal Steinbrenner and co. want to bypass but as this team transitions from an older, rundown roster into a younger team with some fire, the organization might have to make a tough decision.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, the baseball minds in the Yankees’ hierarchy are equipped to move on from the Alex Rodriguez era but it will come down to the Steinbrenners and their willingness to eat that much money. A-Rod has also come out publically to announce he’d be OK with being kicked to the curb.
The team’s recent fire sale took place with Steinbrenner’s consent but this is a type of move that will go beyond advice from Cashman or any members of his staff.
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Beyond flat-out releasing the slugger that ranks sixth on the Yankees’ All-Time home run leaders list, however, there are other possibilities that should be considered. Such as:
- Rodriguez is retiring now.
- Rodriguez is retiring at the end of this season.
- New York is releasing Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez is being named an advisor on the coaching staff.
- The Yankees and Rodriguez will mutually part.
After hearing that this presser will be a joint conference indicates that it will be peaceful one with a positive vibe added to it. I profoundly question why A-Rod would be agreeable to attend a press conference announcing his release from a team he has spent over a decade with.
Perhaps the decision we will hear tomorrow is that the slugger and the Yankees shall reach an arrangement in which they respectively go their separate ways.
He’s “at peace with it,” he’s dead space on a roster spot that can be used for a rising star, and it serves no benefit to the new focus the organization has – the future.
Or maybe, Wallace Mathews of ESPN nailed exactly what A-Rod will announce tomorrow…
I understand A-Rod is going to announce he’s opening a Burger King on the Grand Concourse
— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) August 7, 2016
