What About A-Rod? (1 Viewer)

[Eephus]

He's 37 years old with over 2500 MLB games on the odometer. If Miguel Batista doesn't return next year, A-Rod will be the player with the longest continuous Major League Service.

All things considered, he's not a bad player at least in the regular season. He's still good for 2 WAR and can field a relatively thin position. The contract is ridiculous though; he's due $113M through his age 42 season. It's possible but unlikely that he'll ever return to being a 4 or 5 WAR player that would come close to justifying that kind of salary. He's also very unlikely to make a run at the HR record and even if he did, he's not the kind of figure that would sell many extra tickets.

NY fans and media are ready with their torches and pitchforks. Can the Yankees bring him back next year? They don't have a lot of better options at 3B. If they try to move him, they'll have to eat a huge amount of salary to find a dance partner. Is he an $80M distraction for the Yankees? Would he be worth $6M/yr for another club?

 

[Greco]

Benched tonight. I think that's crazy.

 

[Eephus]

Benched tonight. I think that's crazy.

Saving him to pinch hit with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th

 

[Raider Nation]

Benched tonight. I think that's crazy.

If you're an Orioles fan, maybe.As to the question in the OP, Hank has to swallow hard and eat the salary. A-Dud is done.

 

[David Yudkin]

The contract is ridiculous though; he's due $113M through his age 42 season.

This isn't entirely accurate.His base salary for each of the next 5 years is $28M, $25M, $21M, $20M, $20M = $114MHe also has a bonus of $1M due in 2013 and $3M in 2014 = $4MA-Rod also will get $6 million for hitting each of the following home runs: #660, #714, #755, #762, and #763. (He's currently at 647 home runs.) = $30MSo assuming he can hit 116 dingers over the next 5 years, someone is going to have to shell out $148M to A-Rod over the next 5 years.From what I have heard/seen/read, A-Rod's hip has sapped him of his power and he's currently swinging with his upper body only. Basically, he's not getting any leg strength or torque in his swing. At one point he was supposed to have more hip surgery, but I am not sure if he ever had it.At this point, I think it's save to say that his best days are behind him, especially since he's not juicing anymore. IMO, he's basically a DH from here on out, but I am not sure how many teams will have much interest in a guy that will average $29.6M a year over the next 5 years. If the Yanks try to move him, they will probably have to eat $20 million a year of it.I don't see his WAR going up if he doesn't play in the field anymore.

 

[Raider Nation]

LOL @ "bonuses" on top of that obscene salary.

 

[shadyridr]

Ignoring the salary, hes still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively. You cant trade him. Nobody will ever take on that contract. Lets be serious here. They are just gonna have to suck it up and suffer the consequences with him over the next 5 years. Its gonna suck royally.

 

[Raider Nation]

Ignoring the salary, hes still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively. You cant trade him. Nobody will ever take on that contract. Lets be serious here. They are just gonna have to suck it up and suffer the consequences with him over the next 5 years. Its gonna suck royally.

Explain to me why the Yankees cannot financially withstand paying him off for an early retirement?We need to watch this for another 5 years? Not happening.

 

[Eephus]

Ignoring the salary, hes still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively. You cant trade him. Nobody will ever take on that contract. Lets be serious here. They are just gonna have to suck it up and suffer the consequences with him over the next 5 years. Its gonna suck royally.

Explain to me why the Yankees cannot financially withstand paying him off for an early retirement?We need to watch this for another 5 years? Not happening.

Buyouts, annuities and deferred payments still count for luxury tax purposes. Bobby Bonilla will have a $1.5M hit on the Mets' luxury tax number for the next 23 years.

 

[Raider Nation]

Ignoring the salary, hes still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively. You cant trade him. Nobody will ever take on that contract. Lets be serious here. They are just gonna have to suck it up and suffer the consequences with him over the next 5 years. Its gonna suck royally.

Explain to me why the Yankees cannot financially withstand paying him off for an early retirement?We need to watch this for another 5 years? Not happening.

Buyouts, annuities and deferred payments still count for luxury tax purposes. Bobby Bonilla will have a $1.5M hit on the Mets' luxury tax number for the next 23 years.

Sure, but you still don't roll Weekend at Bernie's out there just because you're paying him millions.

 

[Eephus]

The contract is ridiculous though; he's due $113M through his age 42 season.

This isn't entirely accurate.His base salary for each of the next 5 years is $28M, $25M, $21M, $20M, $20M = $114MHe also has a bonus of $1M due in 2013 and $3M in 2014 = $4MA-Rod also will get $6 million for hitting each of the following home runs: #660, #714, #755, #762, and #763. (He's currently at 647 home runs.) = $30MSo assuming he can hit 116 dingers over the next 5 years, someone is going to have to shell out $148M to A-Rod over the next 5 years.From what I have heard/seen/read, A-Rod's hip has sapped him of his power and he's currently swinging with his upper body only. Basically, he's not getting any leg strength or torque in his swing. At one point he was supposed to have more hip surgery, but I am not sure if he ever had it.

Thanks for the contract corrections.This actually might be the best approach. Sit down with Team A-Rod and a medical team in the off-season. He hasn't been in good physical condition for a couple of years. Try to get him patched up now for the rest of his career. Who cares if he misses all of 2013? He's a sunk cost and an unmovable contract. This would buy him some temporary relief from the fans and media and allow for the Yankees to put a contingency plan in place if he never returns to being an everyday 3B.

 

[shadyridr]

Ignoring the salary, hes still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively. You cant trade him. Nobody will ever take on that contract. Lets be serious here. They are just gonna have to suck it up and suffer the consequences with him over the next 5 years. Its gonna suck royally.

Explain to me why the Yankees cannot financially withstand paying him off for an early retirement?We need to watch this for another 5 years? Not happening.

Ignoring salary, how many currently available 3B would you rather have than ARod. Ill go through the teams and we see if we agree.

 

[shadyridr]

BAL- Machado (unavailable)

BOS- Middlebrooks (unavailable)

TB- Longoria (unavailable)

TOR- Lawrie (unavailable)

CHW- Youkilis (no thanks, Id rather ARod)

MIN- Plouffe (meh, Id rather ARod)

CLE- ?? (Arod)

KC- Moustakas (unavailable)

DET- Miggy (unavailable)

OAK- Donaldson (Id rather ARod)

TEX- Beltre (unavailable)

SEA- ??

LAA- Callaspo (ARod)

NYM- Wright (intriguing)

WAS- Zimmerman (probably unavailable)

ATL- ??

MIA- ??

PHI- Polanco (gimme ARod)

ok Im getting lazy. You can do the other teams but so far it appears every other 3B is either impossible to attain or worse than ARod except for David Wright

 

[Da Guru]

Benched tonight. I think that's crazy.

All egos aside it is just smart managing and giving the Yankees a better chance to win. A-Rod is a shell of his former self and actually looks scared when it is his turn to bat. The only problem is don`t they owe A-Rod about 5 more years at 30 mill a year? I just wish George were still alive to call him out.

 

[Greco]

Benched tonight. I think that's crazy.

All egos aside it is just smart managing and giving the Yankees a better chance to win. A-Rod is a shell of his former self and actually looks scared when it is his turn to bat. The only problem is don`t they owe A-Rod about 5 more years at 30 mill a year? I just wish George were still alive to call him out.

By crazy, I mean it's just nuts how much luster has tarnished on this guy. Dude is in a flat spin out to sea.

 

[=Smackdown=]

Easy solution

Sign David Wright and have him platoon with A-roid.

Yankee pocket change

 

[Raider Nation]

Ignoring the salary, he's still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively.

You gonna stick to that story?

 

[shadyridr]

Ignoring the salary, he's still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively.

You gonna stick to that story?

9th among 3B in OPS during the regular season. But lets let a 20 AB sample size sway my opinion

 

[Raider Nation]

Ignoring the salary, he's still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively.

You gonna stick to that story?

9th among 3B in OPS during the regular season. But lets let a 20 AB sample size sway my opinion

Nah, he's definitely trending in the right direction. The best is yet to come!

 

[shadyridr]

Ignoring the salary, he's still a solid hitter and still plays well defensively.

You gonna stick to that story?

9th among 3B in OPS during the regular season. But lets let a 20 AB sample size sway my opinion

Nah, he's definitely trending in the right direction. The best is yet to come!

Well I dont disagree hes only gonna get worse.

 

[Da Guru]

Can anybody ever remember a the highest paid player on a team/MLB A-Rod being pinch hit for a number of times and even benched?? Last night A-Rod seemed almost relieved that he did not have to bat again.

 

[Eephus]

Can anybody ever remember a the highest paid player on a team/MLB A-Rod being pinch hit for a number of times and even benched?? Last night A-Rod seemed almost relieved that he did not have to bat again.

Zito - healthy scratch from the 2010 playoff roster

 

[Daywalker]

Wouldn't be shocked if Arod entertained a buyout. Base is 5/114. Maybe 60mill buyout. Then he's free to sign with anyone. Could probably get a 3/25mill deal from someone. So we're at 85mill out of the 114. Would have to leave 30mill on the table not including potential bonuses? Would that be worth piece of mind and the ability to finish out your career with some form of dignity?

Maybe the yanks make it known he's not a full-time player anymore and the buyout looks more enticing because he could be a starter somewhere else. Plus those bonuses may not come into play if he's on the pine.

 

[Premier]

I don't think buyouts like that are legal in baseball.

 

[shadyridr]

I don't think buyouts like that are legal in baseball.

I dont think they are illegal but the union would have to agree. I dunno though

 

[Premier]

I don't think buyouts like that are legal in baseball.

I dont think they are illegal but the union would have to agree. I dunno though

They would definitely have to agree and there is 0 chance they ever allow him to take a non-full buyout.

 

[Eephus]

Shameless Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez was playing so poorly against the Detroit Tigers Saturday night that he was yanked from the lineup — but that didn’t stop him from trying to score.

After being replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the highest-paid Yankee openly flirted with a pair of pretty women two rows behind the dugout — even sending them a ball bearing a note asking for their phone numbers, a witness told The Post.

“I watched him flirt with two admittedly very cute young women nearby,’’ the witness said.

Instead of rooting on his teammates as they struggled to stay alive during the tense game at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod, 37, had a ball boy toss the young women a baseball inscribed with a message asking for their numbers.

“Alex was holding a pen and wrote a note on a ball which was thrown at the women by a ball boy,’’ the witness explained.

“The girls, who had already caught two balls, seemed bemused at first and tried to hand the ball to another fan, but other fans noticed the note on it and yelled at them to read it.

“The note asked them to write their phone numbers on the ball and throw it back,’’ the witness said.

“One of the girls, with darker blond hair, wrote . . . on the ball and threw it back at A-Rod, who gave her a big smile.”

ETA: Link w/ pics. The NY Post of course.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The girls, who had already caught two balls

I'll bet they have caught more than that.

 

[Wrigley]

Shameless Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez was playing so poorly against the Detroit Tigers Saturday night that he was yanked from the lineup — but that didn’t stop him from trying to score.

After being replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the highest-paid Yankee openly flirted with a pair of pretty women two rows behind the dugout — even sending them a ball bearing a note asking for their phone numbers, a witness told The Post.

“I watched him flirt with two admittedly very cute young women nearby,’’ the witness said.

Instead of rooting on his teammates as they struggled to stay alive during the tense game at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod, 37, had a ball boy toss the young women a baseball inscribed with a message asking for their numbers.

“Alex was holding a pen and wrote a note on a ball which was thrown at the women by a ball boy,’’ the witness explained.

“The girls, who had already caught two balls, seemed bemused at first and tried to hand the ball to another fan, but other fans noticed the note on it and yelled at them to read it.

“The note asked them to write their phone numbers on the ball and throw it back,’’ the witness said.

“One of the girls, with darker blond hair, wrote . . . on the ball and threw it back at A-Rod, who gave her a big smile.”

ETA: Link w/ pics. The NY Post of course.

He won't be able to hit that either.

 

[culdeus]

I can't hate ARod too much. When he decided to opt out in 2007 it took Texas off the hook for half his spend thru 2010 and helped propel things to where they are today to a large extent.

 

[Man In The Box]

Benched again tonight.

 

[shadyridr]

I can't hate ARod too much. When he decided to opt out in 2007 it took Texas off the hook for half his spend thru 2010 and helped propel things to where they are today to a large extent.

choke artists?

 

[tri-man 47]

From today's Wall Street Journal, some other messages that didn't make it onto the baseball:

Derek, which end of the bat do I hold again? Alex Rodriguez

Cameron, where's my popcorn!?! Having a bad week ... Alex

Ladies, A-Rod doesn't get to first base very often these days. Joe Girardi

Mr. Rodriguez, Bright side: Sitting on the bench allows more time for bible study. Tim Tebow

Alex, maybe you should try switch hitting? Madonna

 

[Thunderlips]

He's 37 years old with over 2500 MLB games on the odometer. If Miguel Batista doesn't return next year, A-Rod will be the player with the longest continuous Major League Service.All things considered, he's not a bad player at least in the regular season. He's still good for 2 WAR and can field a relatively thin position. The contract is ridiculous though; he's due $113M through his age 42 season. It's possible but unlikely that he'll ever return to being a 4 or 5 WAR player that would come close to justifying that kind of salary. He's also very unlikely to make a run at the HR record and even if he did, he's not the kind of figure that would sell many extra tickets.NY fans and media are ready with their torches and pitchforks. Can the Yankees bring him back next year? They don't have a lot of better options at 3B. If they try to move him, they'll have to eat a huge amount of salary to find a dance partner. Is he an $80M distraction for the Yankees? Would he be worth $6M/yr for another club?

Sure. He's worth something to someone(obviously not 28-20million which is the range of base for his contracts going foreward)......but if the Yanks eat a certain percentage each year and kind of dollar cost average their 3B position with Eduardo Nunez (he's not a FA until 2017) and Eric Chavez types...they could make do. Sure, they'd be overpaying for the position initially....but if they lucked into production from a cheap, replacement 3B for the next 4 years....it would be alright. IMO, A-Rod for 5-7million a year could be a pretty decent risk/reward investment for a team in need of a 3B. If he were a FA this year.....what do you think he'd be worth?

 

[Da Guru]

On the MLB network last night they were talking about what A-Rods value is today. They polled some GMs off the record and asked what a UFA A-Rod would command on the open market right now. The answer was 1-2 years at 5 million a year tops.

I will say that I saw the interview in Detroit yesterday and A-Rod did say all the right things. It is loking more and more like A-Rod has played his last game for the Yankees. I am starting to think the decision was made by people other than Girardi.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Calling it now: Kevin Youkilis will be the Yankees opening-day 3B.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Okay, I've seen plenty picks of this girl A-Rod was trying to get digits of. Arod has had a ton of questionable calls in the past but this ain't one of them. I salute A-Rod in having good taste. She is hot.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Okay, I've seen plenty picks of this girl A-Rod was trying to get digits of. Arod has had a ton of questionable calls in the past but this ain't one of them. I salute A-Rod in having good taste. She is hot.

Do the FFA rules not apply here in the baseball forum?

 

[Eephus]

Okay, I've seen plenty picks of this girl A-Rod was trying to get digits of. Arod has had a ton of questionable calls in the past but this ain't one of them. I salute A-Rod in having good taste. She is hot.

Do the FFA rules not apply here in the baseball forum?

Kyna Treacy is on the clock for her 15 minutes of fame

 

[TobiasFunke]

Okay, I've seen plenty picks of this girl A-Rod was trying to get digits of. Arod has had a ton of questionable calls in the past but this ain't one of them. I salute A-Rod in having good taste. She is hot.

Do the FFA rules not apply here in the baseball forum?

Kyna Treacy is on the clock for her 15 minutes of fame

Thank you, kind sir.

 

[beaux]

If Miguel Batista doesn't return next year, A-Rod will be the player with the longest continuous Major League Service.

Jim Thome down?

 

[Eephus]

If Miguel Batista doesn't return next year, A-Rod will be the player with the longest continuous Major League Service.

Jim Thome down?

I assumed Chipper, Thome and Darren Oliver were retiring

 

[beaux]

If Miguel Batista doesn't return next year, A-Rod will be the player with the longest continuous Major League Service.

Jim Thome down?

I assumed Chipper, Thome and Darren Oliver were retiring

I thought I remember reading that Thome wanted to return next year...But that could be a safe assumption...

 

[Please See Mine]

Okay, I've seen plenty picks of this girl A-Rod was trying to get digits of. Arod has had a ton of questionable calls in the past but this ain't one of them. I salute A-Rod in having good taste. She is hot.

Do the FFA rules not apply here in the baseball forum?

Kyna Treacy is on the clock for her 15 minutes of fame

whoa, hey, hello.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

If NYY can get someone to pick up 50-60% of his salary, it's probably a great move. Post-season aside, he's in some serious statistical decline.

 

[shadyridr]

yeah sell him for some relief help, pick up 70% (anything more id be ecstatic), and play nunez at 3b

 

[Limp Ditka]

and so it begins......

Alex Rodriguez said that he has no plans to waive his no-trade clause this offseason.A report earlier Thursday from Bob Nightengale of USA Today said A-Rod wouldn't block a trade, but evidently that's not the case. At least not at this time, anyway. "That's correct," Rodriguez said. "I will be back. I have a lot to prove." A-Rod has been in decline for five straight seasons and has $114 million left on his contract, so he's nearly impossible to deal even if he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Enjoy the offseason, Yankee fans.

 

[Greco]

Anyone see ARod's post game interview where he said, and I'm paraphrasing, that Girardi or Cashman's descion to bench him in games 3 and 4...? It seemed like he was implying that maybe Girardi wasn't the one making the line up decisions, or at a minimum, not without input from Cashman. Perhaps I read too much into it, but it seemed like he was taking an opportunity to undermine his managers authority. Don't get why he wouldn't wave his no trade and get the hell out of there. Doesn't seem like anybody wannts him there anyway.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Anyone see ARod's post game interview where he said, and I'm paraphrasing, that Girardi or Cashman's descion to bench him in games 3 and 4...? It seemed like he was implying that maybe Girardi wasn't the one making the line up decisions, or at a minimum, not without input from Cashman. Perhaps I read too much into it, but it seemed like he was taking an opportunity to undermine his managers authority. Don't get why he wouldn't wave his no trade and get the hell out of there. Doesn't seem like anybody wannts him there anyway.

I wondered if that decision came all the way from the top. And if so, bye bye Arod.

 

[Da Guru]

If NYY can get someone to pick up 50-60% of his salary, it's probably a great move. Post-season aside, he's in some serious statistical decline.

There is no way any team would pay Rodriguiz 10-12 million a year for the next five seasons. The Yankee are going to have to pay at least 60-70% just to get another team to take A-Rod...and will have a tough time even doing that. A-Rods prime is well behind him now. The last two years is the best you can expect going forward. 15-20 HRs 60-70 RBIs, and a couple of DL stints every year. The HGH days of Barry Bonds putting up big numbers at that age are over.