A-Rod To Opt Out?

Alex Rodriguez had an innocuous book signing appearance yesterday, but it resulted in no less than eight newspaper columns based on a few quotes.  I read all of the articles I could find so you don’t have to.

In response to a question about opting out of his contract after the season, A-Rod replied:

"My situation and my only goal is to win a world championship, and I am going to take it day to day. Everything else will take care of itself."

Classic non-answer.  Rodriguez also mentioned that he did not follow the J.D. Drew situation.  The New York Times reports that a publicist from HarperCollins tried to stop reporters from asking questions and that a Newsday reported was pushed away by police.  Newsday’s Jim Baumbach doesn’t mention that, perhaps preferring to leave himself out of the story. 

Scott Boras talked to the AP yesterday, saying that A-Rod was happy in New York but also going on about how revenues in baseball have doubled and elite position players haven’t been properly rewarded.  Boras and Rodriguez won’t discuss the opt-out clause until season’s end, according to the Post.  If you’re Rodriguez, it’s a no-win situation.  He’s not going to give up a contractual right he earned, nor is he going to make a definitive statement in the press so that he can be villainized later for it.

The New York Daily News reports that Rodriguez did mention a desire to represent the Yankees in the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

The latest reports are that A-Rod has three years and $72MM left on his deal.  While the AAV is probably close to what he could get on the open market, Rodriguez would obviously get a longer deal for more security.

Rodriguez also mentioned that he has no beef with Joe Torre for hitting him down in the order in the playoffs.