A-Rod & the Miami Marlins: How Much of the $114 Million Would the Yankees Have to Eat?
By Jason McIntyre
Alex Rodriguez may never swing a bat again with the New York Yankees. He was benched for a 2nd consecutive game Wednesday – and in the 9th inning, Joe Girardi sent Nick Swisher to the on-deck circle over A-Rod! – and even though the game was postponed, don’t expect to see him in the lineup for Game 4 tonight.
If A-Rod is traded in the offseason, who is most likely to take on the remaining 5-years and $114 million of his absurd contract?
It has to be Miami. It’s A-Rod’s home. The frugal franchise has a new stadium to fill and a dearth of talent on the roster. Will a Rodriguez/Reyes left side of the infield sell tickets? Sure it will. Rodriguez is currently sitting on 647 career home runs, and if he merely averages 23 homers* over the next five years, he’ll reach the record of 762 that Barry Bonds set.
So what gets this deal done? Marlins give up a few prospects, toss in an overpaid, terrible starter with a short contract (Nolasco? Zambrano?), and the Yankees agree to eat …
[Aside: When the Rangers unloaded A-Fraud to the Yankees, they had to eat $67 million of his $179 million deal. If you want to use those figures and apply them to A-Rod’s current deal, the Yankees might absorb about $43 million of the $114 million left on A-Rod’s deal. If you take into account how much better he was back then, the Yankees probably have to kick in more than that.]
… and boom, New York has rid itself of A-Roid. The good news for A-Rod? Miami also has models that frequent the ballpark.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports thinks the Angels might be in the mix to land A-Rod because of Vernon Wells and his albatross of a contract:
"The deal that makes the most sense is trading A-Rod to the Angels for outfielder Vernon Wells. The Angels don’t want Wells, who has two years and $42 million remaining in his deal. They need a power-hitting third baseman, and want to make room in the outfield for free agent Torii Hunter"
If I’m Brian Cashman, I’m listening to whatever Miami is selling. What could they possibly want with soon-to-be 34-year-old Vernon Wells and his .230 batting average?
* A-Rod has only hit 16 and 18 homers in the last two years, the lowest totals of his career. Then again, he only played 99 and 122 games in those two seasons.