New York Yankees: Are the Bombers Looking to Dump Alex Rodriguez’s Contract?
August 28, 2012 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Last week, we saw one of the biggest and more shocking blockbuster deals in recent baseball history made between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
Boston sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to Los Angeles in exchange for James Loney and four minor leaguers.
With this, the Red Sox shed about $275 million in payroll, while allowing them to have more flexibility to make moves in the future.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Dodgers originally asked the Yankees about the availability of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira before moving on to claim the players from Boston. However, Sherman speculated on a different type of trade that the Yankees and Dodgers could make in the future, involving Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod is still on the hook for another $114 million over six years—a contract the Yankees probably would love to have off their payroll. Most teams likely do not want to have an aging 37-year-old third baseman who will eventually become a DH.
However, the Dodgers shocked all of baseball by inheriting Hanley Ramirez’s contract in a trade with the Miami Marlins earlier this season, plus taking on Gonzalez, Beckett and Crawford’s deals and jacking up their payroll right around the $190 million mark.
The Dodgers can do this because of the new ownership group led by NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who is allowing Ned Colletti to spend and make deals with free rein.
So, if the Dodgers are taking on the Marlins’ and Red Sox’s bad contracts, why not the Yankees’ with A-Rod?
Ken Davidoff also speculated in the New York Post on the Yankees trying to get rid of Rodriguez by sending him out west. He did bring up two things, however. First, as of Tuesday night, the Yankees had not placed A-Rod on waivers yet. And second, would A-Rod waive his no-trade clause with the Yankees?
One of the biggest differences between the Yankees and Red Sox with regard to the dumping of players is Boston had to get rid of Beckett, as the organization, fans and media were sick of his act and attitude.
On the other hand, the Yankees, fans and media aren’t going out of their way to kill A-Rod like they have in the past. As A-Rod has gotten older, he’s been less of a lightning-rod of controversy. He’s especially been less of a media circus while he recovers from a broken hand he suffered in late July.
But will the Yankees really look to dump A-Rod and his contract off their payroll? My gut right now says no, mostly because A-Rod has that no-trade clause and he loves playing in New York. Plus, he is still trying to pursue 700, 714 and 762 career home runs (he’s currently at 644), and the Yankees can still market his chase of those particular milestones.
However, if the Dodgers call up Brian Cashman to gauge the Yankees’ interest in unloading the rest of A-Rod’s deal, I don’t think he would pass it up.
Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.
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