Going into Monday night’s game against the Houston Astros, which the New York Yankees won 2-1, we witnessed the three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez be relegated to nothing more than a bench warmer. Prior to Monday night’s game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi had been playing Rodriguez against left-handed pitching, but has since decided that the club would be better suited with Rodriguez on the bench for the foreseeable future. Despite Rodriguez’ declining role on the team, all indications are that the Yankees have no intentions of parting ways with him just yet.
New York Yankees Won’t Release Alex Rodriguez Just Yet
Heading into Tuesday’s game with the Astros (54-45), the Yankees find themselves in fourth place in American League East with a record of 51-48, while trailing the first place Baltimore Orioles by 7.5 games. Fortunately for the Yankees, they only sit 4.5 games back of the second Wild Card position, and given the strength of their divisional opponents, as well as their own record within the AL East, makes winning a Wild Card spot the Yankees’ only option to play postseason baseball. So it comes as no surprise that the Yankees are strongly considering becoming sellers at the trade deadline, which is only days away.
On Monday, the Yankees traded closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for their No. 1 prospect, shortstop Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren and two outfield prospects in Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. This trade could signal the beginning of a possible ‘fire sale’ by the New York Yankees. Multiple reports have suggested that the Yankees have been pushing pitcher Ivan Nova hard to potential suitors, as well as fielding offers for All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran, who like Nova, will be a free agent at the end of the season.
On Tuesday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked by MLB Network if trading Beltran was an option for them heading into the trade deadline.
“Certainly if something makes sense we’ll think hard about it. Right now he’s one of the reasons we have a shot,” Cashman said.
Beltran, 39, leads the Yankees in every major offensive category this season, which includes home runs (21), RBI’s (62), batting average (.308) and OPS (.905). If the Yankees feel that they do indeed have a shot at a Wild Card spot, than any offer for Beltran would have to be quite a haul in order for the Yankees to deal him.
As far as Alex Rodriguez is concerned, the Yankees no longer view him as a viable option in the field even though he’s been taking ground balls at first base, and now his services as a hitter seem to be dwindling as well. But apparently the Yankees have no intentions of releasing Rodriguez anytime soon. The 10-time All-Star will turn 41 years old on Wednesday, and even Rodriguez has to be wondering what the future holds for himself moving forward.
After serving a year long suspension in 2014, Rodriguez had an incredible bounce-back season in 2015 that most people did not see coming. Despite only hitting .250 on the season in 2015, the slugger belted 33 home runs, while driving in 86 runs. But unfortunately for Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees, that success he experienced in 2015 has not carried over into this season. With only a few months left to go in the 2016 season, Rodriguez has only managed to hit nine home runs to go along with 29 RBI’s, while producing a batting average that rests just above the Mendoza line at .209.
Cashman was a guest on WFAN’s ‘Boomer and Carton’ show Tuesday morning where he reiterated the Yankees position in regards to Alex Rodriguez, and whether a buyout or settlement was a possibility.
“Obviously what you’re alluding to is always something that can be discussed down the line if we so choose that’s the case, but that’s not something were focused on right now,” Cashman said.
Whether or not Rodriguez sees an increase in his at-bats depends solely on what happens at the trade deadline. If the Yankees do decide to trade Beltran, then Rodriguez will certainly get the opportunity to be the Yankees designated hitter for the remainder of the season, but if they decide not to trade him, than Rodriguez might very well be enjoying his last year in pinstripes.
Main Photo
