Over the past few weeks, whenever the possibility of Alex Rodriguez being released arose, it was inevitable that someone, somewhere would soon follow with a joke about him signing with the Marlins. Sometimes, as it turns out, jokes aren't jokes at all -- just glimpses of potential futures.
With Rodriguez set to be released after Friday's game, it's probably not too surprising to learn that the Marlins have had internal conversations about Rodriguez, per Jon Heyman. Here's Heyman's verdict:
If they do consider it, it would almost surely have to come after rosters expand Sept. 1. But it is probably a long shot, in any case.
There are a few reasons why people have been joking about this possibility, and almost all of them have to do with Rodriguez being from the area and/or Jeffrey Loria's fondness for publicity stunts.
Still, there is a baseball-related argument to be made in favor of the Marlins signing Rodriguez. It goes like this: incumbent platoon first baseman Chris Johnson has hit .207/.278/.305 against left-handed pitching. For as bad as Rodriguez has played overall, he's hit .219/.275/.397 against southpaws.
Is that a big enough difference to welcome in the distraction that Rodriguez would bring with him? Maybe not. But the Marlins are fighting for their playoff lives, and every little upgrade helps. Besides, then we wouldn't have to hear the jokes anymore.
