Yankees Must Treat Alex Rodriguez Like a Ghost as They Plan for Future
November 13, 2014 · Anthony Witrado · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Alex Rodriguez is a ghost.
That is how the New York Yankees should treat his return from his season-long suspension after he was linked to performance-enhancing drugs in the Biogenesis scandal. The lower the expectations, the better the Yankees can prepare to compete in 2015.
General manager Brian Cashman seems to understand this. He knows enough to not know what to expect from Rodriguez, even if manager Joe Girardi is excited enough (at least publicly) to give the New York back pages fuel for fire.
An early look at tomorrow’s front page. Read more: http://t.co/rSxmRCCBds pic.twitter.com/XvYs2tTk4w
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) November 12, 2014
Cashman addressed his winter plans regarding Rodriguez during the GM Meetings in Phoenix this week. Clearly he understands he has to build his roster aside from Rodriguez, not around him.
“I think as you enter the process from a general manager’s standpoint, you enter that process low and hoping for the best,” Cashman said Tuesday, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. “But I don’t think I can bank, for our fanbase, on significant contributions and count on it and be surprised if it’s not there.”
Rodriguez hasn’t played a game since 2013, and even then injuries limited him to 44 games. He hit .244/.348/.423 with a .771 OPS and seven home runs in 181 plate appearances. If we are to believe Rodriguez—which is difficult to do these days—he was clean during that season.
According to Jay Weaver’s Miami Herald report last week, Rodriguez admitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors that he used PEDs from 2010-2012. In those seasons Rodriguez was fairly productive but also injured from time to time.
Assuming the third baseman is completely clean for next season, the Yankees can’t count on him to be a presence in the middle of their lineup. Whether it’s a lack of production or a lack of health, Rodriguez is rightfully being looked at as an afterthought as Cashman figures out what to do with the team’s vacant third base spot.
Rodriguez will also be 40 in July.
“If I signed or traded for a third baseman, then that would be my third baseman,” Cashman told reporters at the GM Meetings. “If we made a move for someone who is a third baseman, then he’s our third baseman.”
Cashman continued: “Alex is going to come in and compete, compete for at-bats, compete for a position. Simple as that.”
This can’t just be a short-term plan. Rodriguez has three years and $61 million left on his contract, and the Yankees should not count on him to play up to that value. If Cashman finds a better alternative, he has to go with it.
The money is already spent on Rodriguez, for better or worse. It cannot handcuff the team’s future, though. They just have to wait for this scab to completely dry out and fall off without any unnecessary pain. In the meantime, they have to look out for the most favorable alternative.
The Yankees are reportedly showing interest in infielder Howie Kendrick, according to CBS Sports insider Jon Heyman. While the Los Angeles Angels aren’t likely to trade Kendrick because he is cheap for the production he provides, the Yankees are exploring all options to solve their issues at second base, shortstop and third.
The team is also scouring the international market. They had multiple scouts at a workout in Guatemala for 19-year-old Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada on Wednesday, according to MLB.com reporter Jonathan Mayo. Scouts believe Moncada has five-tool potential, and the Yankees are no strangers to aggressively going after international players, as they showed last winter when they signed Masahiro Tanaka.
It’s no surprise the Yankees are also interested in signing third baseman Chase Headley, who was traded from San Diego to the Yankees during last season. According to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com, the Yankees have made re-signing Headley a “priority.” He hit .262/.371/.398 with a .768 OPS in 58 games with the Yankees.
Any of those three can play third base, relegating Rodriguez to designated hitter and occasional first baseman.
All of this kicking of the tires and targeting of infielders tells you two things: Cashman knows the infield has holes and that Rodriguez does not fit snugly into any of them. Any production Rodriguez gives the Yankees is going to be a bonus in their view. He’s given them no other choice.
Rodriguez has embarrassed the Yankees, and they have now learned not to count on him to the point that they are paying him to be a non-factor. No longer will the team be hamstrung by his presence or contract, and no longer will it worry about what he can provide.
Rodriguez is all but a ghost to the Yankees until further notice. Now they will act accordingly.
Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News, and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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