Yankees not ready to release A-Rod, but they're not sure when he'll play either
For now Alex Rodriguez is a very lightly used bench player
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The long Alex Rodriguez saga continues.
On Thursday, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said during a radio interview the club currently has no plans to release A-Rod even though he no longer has an obvious role with the team. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch has a transcript:
"First and foremost, you just have to flat-out admit, it is not easy to eat -- meaning release -- that kind of money," Cashman told ESPN Radio. "It's not something you come to a quick decision on. You see players -- and I don't want to name them because they are still playing -- but there are players around the game who are on big contracts that have been well-below-average players now for many years, not just a year.
"Alex hit 33 home runs, I believe, last year. This is a bigger media market and more attention, and there is certainly a tempest about what should be done. All I can tell you is, slow down a little bit and here is the counterarguments: There is a very large financial commitment through next year on a player of Alex's caliber that was productive as early as last year."
The Yankees owe A-Rod the remainder of his $21 million salary this season, plus another $21 million next season. And Cashman is right. Rodriguez did hit 33 home runs last year and was rather productive. He was one of the best DHs in baseball and helped the Yankees win a Wild Card spot.
This year though, the now 41-year-old A-Rod has struggled immensely, so much so that he hardly plays. Rodriguez has hit .204/.252/.356 (62 OPS+) with nine home runs overall. He's started only nine of the team's last 28 games, and more playing time is not on the way.
Girardi said "I can't really tell you when he's going to play" regarding ARod
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) August 4, 2016
The Yankees are effectively playing with a 24-man roster now. Rodriguez can no longer play the field, so he's relegated to pinch-hitting duty, and he doesn't even do that very often. A-Rod is only four home runs away from 700 and that chase would help the team sell tickets, but if he's not in the lineup, how's he ever supposed to hit a home run?
A-Rod's salary is largely irrelevant. It's a sunk cost. The Yankees have to pay him that no matter what. They could either pay him the money to sit on their roster and not contribute, or they could release him and give the roster spot to one of the young players they say they want to call up in the second half. As an outsider, releasing A-Rod is an easy call. We're not the ones writing the checks though.
September 1st is exactly four weeks away now. The Yankees and every other team will be able to expand their roster that day, and my guess is the Yankees will ride out this 24-man roster situation until then. Once rosters expand, it'll be much easier to carry A-Rod as a "dead" roster spot.
