A-Rod: “I will be back”

The post season did not go the way the New York Yankees or third-basemen Alex Rodriguez had hoped. Despite having baseball’s highest payroll the Yankees were swept out of the American League Championship Series by the Detroit Tigers. While there is plenty of blame to go around there are many fingers pointed at Rodriguez who finished the series a miserable 3-for-25 and was pinch hit for and benched at times.

Asked if he would be a Yankee next season Rodriguez responded “That’s correct.” Rodriguez went on to say “I will be back, and I have a lot to prove, and I will come back on a mission. … I’ve never thought about going to another team. My focus is to stay here. Let’s make that very, very clear.”

Rumors circulated before Game 4 of the ALCS that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had been in contact with the Miami Marlins about a trade of the slugger.

Cashman dismissed the idea saying he had not talked to anyone since the trade deadline about trades. Marlins team president David Sampson confirmed to MLB.com that “There have been no conversations between the Yankees and the Marlins.”

After the Game 4 loss Cashman said he believes Rodriguez will be back in pinstripes next season. “I expect Alex to come back and be our third baseman. Obviously, what just happened here, I just don’t think it’s reflective of Alex’s abilities — and I think that’s true of a lot of the guys, not just Alex.”

A trade of Rodriguez will be difficult for many reasons. Rodriguez is 37 years of age and is at the point in his career where his body and bat are starting to slow. There are five years and $114 million dollars left on his contract and Rodriguez himself must approve any trade.

This season A-Rod appeared in 122 games and hit a pedestrian .272/.353/.430 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI. A far cry from numbers you would expect from a player who earned a reported $29 million. Rodriguez has not appeared in more then 140 games since 2007.

John Boarman
John Boarmanhttp://www.tireball.com
Founder and Owner of Tireball Sports.

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