Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Now batting the third baseman, Number ....
... Thirteen, Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez.
No, this isn’t going to be about how A-Rod is a weasel, or how his agent is a louse. Those things have been written about ad nauseum.
I was looking around the Yankee blogosphere today when I should have been working and saw something that led me to believe there’s a chance that not only will A-Rod be back at third for the Yankees next season, but that it might be for the long term AND everyone comes out saving a little face.
From Peter Abraham’s LoHud Blog:
The Yankees do in fact have the right to offer Alex Rodriguez arbitration. Cashman said they would and that they would receive compensation in the form of draft picks.
So the Yankees will have a number of picks in the first part of the draft next June.
The emphasis added there is mine.
You may be saying - yeah, and, big whoop. Well let’s hop in the Wayback Machine Mr. Peabody, back to the heady days of 2002. The Yankees have been bounced by the Angels, who went on to win the World Series and the Atlanta Braves are in the process of untangling themselves from Time Warner’s corporate ownership and slashing payroll.
The Braves were negotiating with free agent-to-be Greg Maddux, and had offered him arbitration to keep the window open (in those days, teams that didn’t offer arbitration couldn’t bring a guy back until May 31, a rule that’s since been changed).
Maddux and Atlanta couldn’t come to terms on a long-term deal and it looked like he was gone - especially based on his agent’s posturing. However, unable to find the right price, the pair unexpectedly accepted Atlanta’s arbitration, leading to an awkward situation with payroll and too many pitchers (the Braves handled this by dealing Kevin Millwood for Johnny Estrada, a deal that worked out surprisingly well for them).
So, this brings us to our current situation where most people seem to feel the following to some degree:
1) The Yankees, in the short-term at least, would be better off with Rodriguez in the lineup.
2) Scott Boras is more likely to find a big deal for Rodriguez if the Yankees are in the bidding, which they aren’t right now. And in fact, he may not find the big deal he is seeking at all.
So what happens next month if Rodriguez Inc. hasn’t found the mega-deal they are seeking?
Well, what if they accept the Yankees invitation to the arbitration table? A one-year deal, at $28 or $29 million, gives Boras and A-Rod a chance to perhaps mend fences in New York, lets Cashman, etc. say “Hey, he accepted, what could we do?” and while its awkward, maybe enough happens next year to convince both sides that a marriage of convenience is best for all sides.
Far-fetched? Perhaps, but who knows, its as much a possibility as anything right now.
Oh, and Maddux’s agent in 2002 Scott Boras.
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