FYI, How I wish they would do this. Detach the name from the performance and just call him Player X. In 2011, he was limited to 99 games, but when he played, he was an above-average performer relative to others at his position, hitting .276, with an .823 OPS. In 2012, those numbers dipped slightly, as he continued to battle more injuries; Player X had a .783 OPS, while seeing a predictable regression in his defense. Because of offseason surgery, Player X was limited to 44 games in 2013 -- and he showed some pop. His OPS slid only slightly, to .771, although the questions about his ability to play regularly in the field continued to grow. Player X is 38 years old, and as he deals with a condition that can be degenerative, he has missed 221 games the past three seasons. When he plays, he is still an above-average-to-average offensive player, compared to others at his position. In the small sample of games he played in the field in 2013, one defensive metric has him as average. In short, the pure performance evaluation would be: Player X can be a productive player, although there are significant questions about whether he will be healthy enough to be counted on. There is more to the equation than baseball production, however. So much more. Player X is Alex Rodriguez, and his lawsuit count for 2013 may be in the neighborhood of his home run total for the year (seven), after all the papers are filed before the start of 2014. One of the defendants is the Yankees' team doctor. By season's end, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged he was concerned about having conversations with Rodriguez because he fretted that his words would become fodder in a legal case. If A-Rod returns to the Yankees, a lot of folks in the organization will be walking carefully around him, out of fear that something they do or say might lead to them to taking an oath in a courtroom. The Yankees owe Rodriguez $86 million over the next four seasons, a financial commitment that may be lightened if an arbitrator rules against him and sustains some sort of suspension, and if that ruling stands up to any inevitable legal challenge that Rodriguez may mount. I don’t think it matters. I'm guessing – and that's all it is, a guess -- that Rodriguez has played his last game for the Yankees. If Rodriguez is ordered to serve the full 211 games in his suspension, I think they'll cut him upon completion of his sentence. If his suspension is reduced, I think they'll cut him. If he wins his case outright, I think they'll cut him. Because Rodriguez may have reached the tipping point in his career in which his potential production for the Yankees is outweighed by the potential downside for the organization. Let's say, for argument's sake, that Rodriguez won his arbitration case and was ready to play at the start of spring training. For 38-year-old Player X, a good season in the summer in which he turned 39 might be 120-125 games, 15 to 20 homers and an OPS in the range of .750-.770. A full season for Alex Rodriguez also would promise to include the spectacle of a news conference at the outset of spring training, just as the Yankees are focusing on the 2014 season after failing to make the playoffs in 2013. We in the media would chase him around for updates on his play and on the progress of lawsuits against others in the organization and Major League Baseball. Whether the Steinbrenner family wants it or not, A-Rod will be the face of the Yankees whenever he plays for them again. Some teammates were privately fed up by the daily circus that swirled around A-Rod in the last two months of last season, as they were trying to hang in the pennant race. My guess is that the Yankees will decide: uncle. My guess is that after the arbitrator makes his ruling, they will make peace with the idea of writing him a big check, paying him off and moving on without him. Jhonny Peralta and many others have shown that folks in baseball will forgive a PED history if there is the promise of exceptional production. Heck, A-Rod showed that in 2009, after his admission that he used PEDs early in his career. His teammates stood for his news conference in Tampa, in support of him, and after that they went back to business, because Rodriguez was still an elite player. If he had been a fringe player, he would have been cut long ago. But Player X -- A-Rod -- can no longer be counted on for star-level production, in the latter half of the 10-year contract he signed after the 2007 season. And unquestionably, his presence will have great potential for distraction. George Steinbrenner seemed to subscribe to the theory that there is no such thing as negative publicity, particularly in his first 15 years of ownership of the Yankees. But I wonder if even Steinbrenner -- who was suspended from baseball himself -- might have grown weary of the A-Rod headlines, and severed the relationship by now. Winning mattered most to Steinbrenner, and as it is with a lot of older players, it's no longer a sure thing that Player X -- Alex Rodriguez -- is more of a help than a hindrance
I doubt they do that, it's not like they can offer less than his contract is owed -minus suspension money of course but that's only $25, beyond that it will take the full amount, plus who pays the enormous milestones if he plays elsewhere? the Yankees would be stuck with that money as well, it's not happening.
...rusty, I may be wrong but I think it can be done. I'm sure that the MLBPA would have to put their seal of approval on it, but from what I've read, they'd kinda like this whole circus to go away. The publicity is not good for them either. ...and I would think that if the existing contract is bought out, the bonus would also end with it.
It's up to Arod to accept less money, and what reason would have to do that? we're talking about $120 million in milestones, he's not letting that go, and combine that with his salary even with the lost season it's almost $200 million, is NY really going to write that check?
...write a check for $200 Mil?...no, because even ARod realizes the he likely won't get to 763 HRs, especially if the suspension is upheld. ...why would he settle?...because he knows he's already burned his bridges with the Yanx management and many of his team mates don't want him around either...so a return is unlikely. ...and in your math, you are also counting the $25 Mil of his 2014 contract that most of which, if not all, will be forfeited due to suspension. If he is suspended next year, it means he's only due $61 Mil in remaining salary and would turn 40 years old when he'd be allowed to play again during the 2015 season. So again, I know he's only 6 HRs or so away from a bonus but I don't see him realistically reaching the last 2. ...I could see the Yanx and ARod parting ways for somewhere around $75 Mil - $100 Mil.
Agree 59 Don't quite know where that 200 mill comes from. I agree if a-roid is suspended this whole season somewhere around 61 mill left plus 5 6mill bonuses. Yanks simply will write that 61 mill check and be responsible for the 5 bonuses of which he is likely to only reach one if he achieves any of them. Add this to the fact that probably no other team is signing on for the a-roid circus and his numbers end where they are now with no additional payouts. No brainer for the yanks to get this P.O.S. outta here
The $200 mill is not correct, I think Arod can earn up to $30 million total for reaching milestones across the remaining seasons, not for each, so I'm wrong about that, but I'm not wrong that he won't forget about that part of the contract simply because it's unlikely he'll get to those bonuses, if a deal is to be made that money has to be figured in, so the number is closer to $100 million, and maybe less gets it done, but I doubt Arod or the players will allow a deal for much less than the contract was signed and to write a check for $100 million is no joke, even for the Yankees.
Rusty, Don't think the yanks or anyone else will give a-rod advance money for the future bonus home runs at 6 mill per unless he actually reaches them. They will simply pay him off and add some kind of rider that if he reaches the milestones for another team (Japan doesn't count LOL) they will pay him. Which makes it kinda odd because a-rod doing everything he can to alienate the yanks and by extension any other mlb GM that got drunk enough to consider offering a-roid a contract.
...^^^yup, why should the Yanx pay him for milestone HRs that he has not even hit yet and may or may not ever hit?
Because then the Yankees can simply forget about a buyout, and Arod plays, what reason does he have to settle for less?
Rusty, the yanks as long as they pay him whats left on the contract control the situation. Hard to see any arbiter awarding a-roid bonus money unless he actually achieves the bonus and then he would get paid. Imagine asking someone to achieve the bonus which is tainted by all those steroid home runs and is embarrassing anyway before actually paying the bonus.
First, Rusty what I typed was sarcasm, however with that said, Like any team that releases a player, they are responsible for any and all monies due per the contract but not the performance bonuses. I don't see how he will ever wear a Yankee uniform ever again including old timers day...
