A-Rod A Big Burden For Yankees

By: SBRForum.com

As the New York Yankees head into the offseason, the top concern is the contract – and performance – of Alex Rodriguez. He’s coming off a couple of rough seasons where his home run totals dipped to 18 this season and 16 last season. That’s a significant drop for him considering he hadn’t been under 30 in any season since 1997.

But the A-Rod issues were exacerbated in the playoffs when he was flirting with women in the stands and acting very nonchalantly considering his enormous slump and that manager Joe Girardi had to bench him. He was just 3-for-25 in the playoffs. Most players winners would have shown a different type of emotion in response to being benched but A-Rod didn’t seem to care all too much.

So what do the Yankees do with their third baseman? Better yet, what can they do?
The MLB odds makers in Vegas are banking on him returning. The smart money seems to be on that since few teams will want to trade for him at this point. His value couldn’t possibly be lower and his contract is an absolute albatross should anyone decide to take it on. He’s got $114 million remaining over five seasons. He’s now 37-years-old and looks like he’s aging by the day. On top of that, he’s got a full no-trade clause and has said that he doesn’t plan to waive it.

On one hand, this might be an overreaction. A-Rod is going to be overpaid the rest of his career but he’s still a decent player overall. The Yankees calling card is offense and the entire team went cold; it wasn’t just A-Rod.

The ideal situation is that he comes back and plays like he’s got something to prove. If he does, he can again be one of the anchors on the team. However, if he fails to do that, the Yankees will be burdened by his massive contract and it will hamper their financial flexibility until it’s off the books.