MLB

A-Rod decides to have second opinion on quad, but keeps Yankees in the dark

MOOSIC, Pa. — It is Alex Rodriguez, so a quad issue is never just a quad issue.

It is another reason for paranoia and conspiracy theories, intrigue and infighting, tension and mistrust.

You have to pinch yourself on occasion as a reminder that A-Rod is a baseball player and not a character in a John Le Carre spy novel, considering all the claims, counter-claims and supposition that circle around him.

So here are actual facts. A-Rod went for an MRI exam yesterday and the Yankees announced he had a Grade 1 quad strain. For the other several hundred players in baseball that would be it. Not A-Rod.

The Post learned Rodriguez intended to go for a second opinion to Dr. Bryan Kelly, who performed his hip surgery last winter. However, general manager Brian Cashman told me he spoke directly to Rodriguez and was assured the one-time slugger is not going for a second opinion. However, after that, my source once again reiterated Rodriguez will indeed see Kelly, just he doesn’t feel like he has to keep the Yankees informed about seeing a doctor not employed by the team.

That A-Rod is even considering a second opinion on something as relatively minor as a quad strain suggests a continuing distrust of the Yankees, and wanting to make sure they are not keeping him sidelined to collect insurance money.

That notion makes Yankees defenders cackle — and not just because it insinuates they are falsifying MRI results. But because there have been executives in the game saying for weeks that A-Rod would make sure he never reached the field. The theory went that if he proved incapacitated before a suspension came — that two major hip surgeries left him unable to play on a major league level — he could retire with cause before an MLB suspension was handed out, thus protecting his future salary (more than $100 million) or, perhaps, get paid if he had a personal insurance policy.

That Rodriguez could be seeking counsel from his hip surgeon made those executives wonder if this would be the beginning of him creating a case the hips are just too shot to return.

Or maybe — just maybe — this really is just a quad strain, Kelly will reiterate that and like Derek Jeter — who was diagnosed with the same injury — Rodriguez will need a few more recovery weeks — making the injury frustrating for all involved, but not nefarious.

Again, this is the life A-Rod has created around himself. The two-way lack of trust between the Yankees and the player is to the point that neither would believe the other if they said today was Monday. And MLB probably would need two independent corroborations if A-Rod told it his name were Alex Rodriguez.

This is soap opera tinged with farce wrapped in the real-life plummet of an icon.

Rodriguez has called suggestions he is trying not to play blather, insisting he hungers to return to the field. Yankees defenders say that is what they want, too, Rodriguez back on the field because:

a) They only get a substantial insurance payback if he is unable to ever play again due to the hip injuries. Thus, it doesn’t matter if he comes back or not, as long as it leads to permanent absence at some point; b) They are competitive folks who think A-Rod could actually help the 2013 team; c) They believe what the rest of the sport believes — Rodriguez will soon be suspended for 100-plus games. If the suspension holds after appeal and is served mostly and/or all of next year, this would be best for the organization because it means not paying him during the suspension and not having that part of the salary count toward the luxury tax payroll. That would help make it easier to meet the mandate to get under the $189 million threshold in 2014 and earn additional, substantial financial benefits.

A suspension is expected in two to three weeks. It felt as if union head Michael Weiner were speaking about Rodriguez when he told me recently if the evidence is overwhelming, the union will encourage the guilty to make the best deal possible for themselves rather than appeal. And word is the evidence — perhaps texts, e-mails, mailing labels, etc. — is voluminous.

So does Rodriguez fight relentlessly, trying to dirty up the process and the people in charge with counter-accusations, and/or by dragging more players down with him? Or does he forge the best deal to try to play at a future date or have involvement in the game post-career and avoid the Pete Rose death penalty?

This is a man that actually wants to own a baseball team, as delusional as his detractors might consider that.

Again, this is Alex Rodriguez. So much exists in the shadows. So much is fueled by animus and distrust.

It is Alex Rodriguez. Where a quad issue is a plot device in a larger drama.