BALTIMORE — So what’s the new sweet spot for Alex Rodriguez’s 211-game suspension? If you’re a Yankees fan, for what outcome should you root in A-Rod’s upcoming appeal hearing against Major League Baseball that will determine his fate for 2014?
Unless you’re a finger-wagging moralist, you probably don’t want the whole thing upheld anymore, right? On the flip side, as he reminded us once again Tuesday night of his fragility, you don’t want him fully acquitted, either, especially with the Yankees looking to get under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold next year.
Yes, once again, Rodriguez has forced us to look at him and contemplate his fate. This time, his two doubles helped the Yankees mount a critical, come-from-behind, 7-5 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards. Nevertheless, he couldn’t even complete the game, as he departed in the eighth inning after he injured his left hamstring while scoring the tying run from second base on Robinson Cano’s single.
“I felt a little knot coming around third base,” Rodriguez said. “I’m optimistic for [Wednesday],” and manager Joe Girardi expressed his belief that A-Rod could start at designated hitter.
“We need to keep him in there,” Girardi said, “so we’ll figure something out.”
The Yankees (77-68) still have decisions to make because they pulled within two games (three in the loss column) of the Rays (78-65), the American League second wild card, who suffered a 2-0 loss to the Red Sox. The Yankees also crept within a half-game (one in the loss column) of the Orioles (77-67) and the Indians (77-67), who lost to the Royals 6-3.
In other words, all good news on the scoreboard front. The injury front was nowhere as promising. Besides Rodriguez’s setback, Ivan Nova left after six innings and 69 pitches because of a right triceps issue; catcher Austin Romine might have suffered a concussion; and Boone Logan’s left elbow hasn’t improved, forcing the Yankees to bring aboard beefy left-hander Mike Zagurski.
Unless the Yankees can overcome their battery of injuries as well as the other teams in the race and qualify for the playoffs, A-Rod’s hearing will begin Sept. 30 in Manhattan. My professional recommendation is, hope independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz cuts the penalty to 100 games, making Rodriguez available for the final 62 games next season.
In all, Rodriguez has started 27 games at the hot corner and three more at designated hitter, and he owns an impressive .301/.388/.496 slash line. While his defensive range is limited, and he drew the fury of teammate Chris Stewart when he cut off Alfonso Soriano’s fifth-inning throw home on Nick Markakis’ sacrifice fly, his offense easily makes up for it.
“I’m encouraged,” Rodriguez said before Tuesday’s game. “Every day, I feel a little better.”
We know how difficult it would be to replace this sort of production, because we already witnessed it before Rodriguez’s return from the disabled list. The other nine players who have started at third base for the Yankees this season teamed for a dreadful .215/.277/.331 slash line during their starts at the hot corner.
A-Rod looks like a guy who still can significantly impact a team’s fortunes yet who can’t be relied upon as a core player. He’s like Roger Clemens in 2006 and 2007, when The Rocket preserved his bullets by postponing his season debut until June.
If Rodriguez sat out 100 games to serve his time for his alleged involvement in Biogenesis, he would be in line to return for the Yankees’ July 23, 2014 home game against Texas (thanks, just released preliminary schedules for next year!). He could spend the first half of the season working with a personal trainer and then participate in minor-league rehabilitation games.
Now, the financial breakdown: Because A-Rod will make $25 million next year, a 100-game suspension would dock him $15.43 million and give the Yankees that breathing room on their luxury-tax calculations. One additional headache: Unless Rodriguez goes deep eight more times by season’s end, he’d put himself in line to tie Willie Mays’ 660 home runs next season, which means the Yankees would have to budget for the $6 million bonus Rodriguez will reap with that milestone.
That would drop the Yankees’ A-Rod relief down to $9.43 million, which is still significant.
This is, of course, all in the hands of Horowitz, and anyone who can assert with authority how he will rule is full of it. Both MLB and Team A-Rod have expressed confidence their side will fully prevail. We’ll find out whose confidence was justified and whose wasn’t.
What we do know for now is, it no longer makes sense for Yankees fans to cheer for Rodriguez to get run out of the game. Much to the dismay of many folks, he’s still a guy worth keeping around in some capacity.