Alex Rodriguez Rumors

Olney On A-Rod, Marlins, DeRosa

ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Alex Rodriguez will never be as marketable as he once was, but the Yankees would settle for a return to his standard high level of play. A-Rod's not impressing scouts anymore, but all the Yankees can do is keep playing him and hope he returns to form. After all, he has eight years on his contract after this one. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors: Olney confirms what we heard earlier today: the Marlins are looking for a proven reliever. Olney says Danys Baez could work, as well as LaTroy Hawkins and Luis Ayala. The...   Continue Reading

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A-Rod's Milestone Bonuses

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears from a variety of baseball officials who believe the Yankees should try to challenge and avoid the clauses in Alex Rodriguez's contract that reward him for hitting historic home runs. The contract calls for five $6MM bonuses to reward Rodriguez for "historic milestone accomplishments." A-Rod, who has 553 home runs, gets $6MM for matching Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) and another $6MM for passing Bonds. Stark reports the Yankees haven't begun questioning the clauses yet, but many officials on other teams argue the Yankees shouldn't have to reward...   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Nationals, Lee, A-Rod

SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up; here are some highlights: Heyman spoke with a Nats person who described college pitcher Stephen Strasburg's curve as a "legit hammer." The Nats will have the chance to draft him with their first overall pick this June. The Nats could have a solid young rotation soon if they add Strasburg to go along with Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann, both 22. John Lannan and Scott Olsen are only 24 and 25, respectively. There has been contact between the Nats and Pedro Martinez, though Heyman writes that Pedro makes more sense for a...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Minaya, Bradley, McClain

Links for Friday... Yahoo's Gordon Edes on what might've been: Alex Rodriguez in Boston. MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone interviewed GM Omar Minaya. Milton Bradley is not a fan of the Chicago media. He explained why in an exclusive chat with MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Rob Bradford of WEEI talks about the scarcity of middle-of-the-order bats on the free agent market, as it relates to the Red Sox. Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald wonders if Luis Vizcaino could return to the White Sox. Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Sponichi report indicating that the Hiroshima Carp are in contract talks...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill

Links for Thursday... Chat today, 2pm CST. Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing. John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter. Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill. If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the...   Continue Reading

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Yankees Not Likely To Replace A-Rod Through Trade

7:32pm: Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger has another quote from Cashman on why the Yankees will not trade for a replacement. "With the team not wanting add payroll, not wanting to hurt the farm system and stuff like that, and we're going to get Alex back, we're going to go with what we have in camp," Cashman said. 7:08pm: According to an AP article, Brian Cashman spoke about the possibility of finding a replacement for Alex Rodriguez through the trade market saying it is not likely. "I'm not optimistic about doing anything," Cashman said before the Yankees played Cincinnati...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman

Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports... One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal's speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A's, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out. Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod's salary. In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if...   Continue Reading

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A-Rod Will Undergo Surgery

Joe Lapointe of the New York Times reports that Alex Rodriguez will undergo surgery on Monday to repair the torn labrum and address some bone irregularity in his right hip on Monday. Rodriguez will miss 6-9 weeks, which means that in a perfect world for Yankee fans, A-Rod will be back on the field in early May. He could, however, miss a larger portion of May as well, depending on his rehab. Lapointe quotes Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman as saying that the surgery is "not only a legitimate option, but the best option." A-Rod was not available for a...   Continue Reading

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Notes On The A-Rod Injury

9:44pm: Peter Abraham of the Journal News writes that Yankees GM Brian Cashman "has not spoken to any teams regarding trades." It sounds like the Yanks could deal with A-Rod's vacancy using in-house options. Then again, as noted below, there are still a few infielders left on the free agent market. 9:50am: A few interesting thoughts from ESPN's Buster Olney this morning: The Yankees talked internally in the past about how Robinson Cano's best position, in the long term, might be third base. And it may be that if they determine that A-Rod will be out for a long period...   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Bradley, A-Rod, Manny

New info from SI.com's Jon Heyman... Milton Bradley's two-year, $20MM deal becomes a three-year, $30MM deal only if he plays at least 75 games in 2009. Bradley's games played totals over the past four years: 126 (mostly DHing), 61, 96, 75. The structure of the deal seems dangerous - does it give Bradley incentive to play hurt? Heyman talks about the A-Rod injury situation, running through the various replacement names we've discussed. Heyman believes the Giants would've gotten to the low-$40MM range over two years for Manny Ramirez, and they had not agreed to an opt-out.   Continue Reading

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