The Alex Rodriguez saga may soon come to an end.
The Yankees and Rodriguez have called a press conference at Yankee Stadium for 11 a.m. ET Sunday, the team announced. No reason for the press conference was given.
A-Rod has barely played the past few weeks for several reasons, most notably his lack of production. He's hitting .204/.252/.356 (62 OPS+) with nine homers in 62 games. Rodriguez has started only one of the club's past 14 games.
GM Brian Cashman recently said the Yankees have no plans to release A-Rod despite plenty of rumors to the contrary. I count four major possible reasons for the press conference:
- A-Rod is retiring, effectively immediately. Seems very unlikely.
- A-Rod is retiring after the season. Slightly more likely.
- The Yankees are indeed releasing A-Rod.
- The Yankees and A-Rod have agreed to a "mutual parting of ways," meaning some sort of buyout.
There are countless other possible reasons for the press conference -- maybe they're hiring him as a player/coach! -- but those stand out as the four big ones.
The fact the Yankees and A-Rod have called a joint press conference indicates that, whatever is happening, it's amicable. I'm guessing Rodriguez would not be a willing attendant if the team did decide to release him.
Rodriguez is owed the remainder of his $21 million salary this season, plus another $21 million next season. Players have retired and walked away from money before -- Michael Cuddyer did it this past offseason -- but those players are exceptions, not the rule.
The Yankees traded away veterans at the deadline and have been looking to get younger in the second half. Rodriguez is essentially a dead roster spot preventing them from calling up a young player from Triple-A, so you can be sure they would be happy to get rid of him.
Earlier this week, A-Rod told reporters he is "at peace" with the possibility of being released.
