Once that decision was made, this question became inevitable: Should the Yankees finally part with Alex Rodriguez, releasing him and giving his roster spot to a young player who could help them in the future?
Rodriguez is hitting .204 with a .252 on-base percentage and nine home runs this season and has become a bench player making $21 million a year. Yankees GM Brian Cashman admitted it’s that last figure that has delayed the decision of releasing A-Rod.
“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.”
A-Rod is owed another $21 million next season in the final year of his 10-year, $275 million deal, when he’ll be 42 years old and most likely a vague memory of the player he once was.
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