With the New York Yankees purging themselves of many veteran stars before the MLB's non-waiver trade deadline Monday, Alex Rodriguez's future remains up in the air.
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Rodriguez a Candidate to be Released During 2016 Season
Tuesday, Aug. 2
According to Peter Botte and Christian Red of the New York Daily News, "While the more likely scenario still seems to be parting ways with A-Rod over the winter, a source familiar with the situation told the Daily News on Monday that there's a chance releasing the slumping DH 'could happen' before the end of this season as part of the team's ongoing overhaul."
Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com added context, noting there was "no chance" the veteran slugger would be waived to make room for elite catching prospect Gary Sanchez.
That wouldn't come as a huge surprise. The Yankees clearly indicated they were in rebuilding mode after trading relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, starting pitcher Ivan Nova and slugger Carlos Beltran before the deadline, per Billy Witz of the New York Times.
Ostensibly, that offers the Yankees the opportunity to open up playing time for a number of exciting, young prospects. Players like Rodriguez would stand in the way of giving those prospects playing time, however, making the possibility of his release seem realistic.
"I hope not," Rodriguez told the Daily News when told there was a chance of his release. "I want to play and think I can make a difference on the field and in the clubhouse."
General manager Brian Cashman noted that Rodriguez was a part of the team's current plans, however, per Botte and Red:
A-Rod is a choice for our manager and coaching staff as they try to dissect every day what's the best lineup to put out there. He's going to do everything he continues to do to try to put himself in a position to succeed and then leave the decision making to the field staff if there's opportunities to play or not.
The answer to that's easy, I guess. We evaluate everything on a daily and weekly basis. We're always trying to do the right thing. We're always trying to do the best thing. Nothing has changed there.
Certainly, there are financial reasons to keep Rodriguez around. He's still owed a guaranteed $21 million next season and the remainder of his salary this year.
From a performance standpoint, however, Rodriguez has struggled. He's hitting just .205 with nine home runs and 29 RBI entering Tuesday's action. He's hitting just .196 against right-handed pitching and was given only 37 at-bats in July, hitting .135 in the month with a homer and two RBI.
Either way, his days with the Yankees seem numbered. If the team decides to give younger prospects more playing time and A-Rod becomes disgruntled, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Yankees cut ties this season. Otherwise, it still seems most likely the team will move on from the veteran over the winter, as Botte and Red suggested.
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