Alex Rodriguez could be traded to Miami Marlins

[SpecialFNK]

apparently there has been some talk that Alex Rodriguez could end up being traded to the Miami Marlins.

rotoworld

Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com report that the Yankees and Marlins have discussed a possible Alex Rodriguez trade.
It was first reported by Keith Olbermann on his MLB.com "Nerd Blog," and now Matthews and Marchand have confirmed that conversations have indeed taken place between Yankees president Randy Levine and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. They describe the initial discussions as "casual," but with the possibility of becoming serious this offseason. The Yankees would obviously have to eat a ton of the $114 million still owed to A-Rod to get a deal done, and Rodriguez has a no-trade clause. But, the third baseman is from Miami and has obviously fallen out of favor in New York. Matthews and Marchand mention the possibility of the Marlins unloading Heath Bell's contract onto the Yanks. Nothing is remotely close to happening anytime soon, but it's something to monitor over the winter.

mlbtraderumors

Earlier today, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman shot down a report from Keith Olbermann which indicated that the club has talked with the Marlins about a possible trade involving Alex Rodriguez. However, Yankees president Randy Levine and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria have in fact had a casual conversation about relocating the embattled third baseman to Miami, a source tells Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.

It should be noted that the conversation first began in a "joking" fashion according to the report, which would indicate that any talks between the two sides are in an embryonic stage. However, the source believes that the chat could develop into serious trade talks this winter. Loria reportedly said, "Alex is Mr. Miami, it would be great if he played here for us." The Yankees president then responded, "You can have him."

A second source with knowledge of A-Rod's thinking said Miami is likely the only place that he would accept a trade to. For his part, Levine refused to comment on the conversation with Loria in an interview with ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor and declined to speculate on Rodriguez's future with the Yanks beyond this year. Rodriguez is owed $114MM over the next five years, not including potential bonuses for home run milestones.

It would not be unprecedented for Yankees brass to conduct business with limited involvement from Cashman. Two years ago, the club brokered a substantial deal for reliever Rafael Soriano despite the GM's objections.

ESPN.

What began as a casual, joking conversation between New York Yankees president Randy Levine and Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria about the possibility of Alex Rodriguez playing for the Marlins may develop into serious trade talks this offseason, according to a source with knowledge of the conversation.

According to the source, Levine and Loria discussed the possibility of A-Rod playing in Miami, his hometown, but characterized it as a joke between old friends.

The conversation between the Yankees and Marlins initially was reported by Keith Olbermann on his MLB.com "Nerd Blog." Variety also reported the news.

However, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he has had no trade talks regarding Rodriguez with anyone and described the first report as "false."

"I have had no discussions whatsoever with the (Miami) Marlins," Cashman said. "Certainly would never have any trade discussions under the circumstances. I certainly have not had any discussions with any GMs other than the pregame meetings with Dan Duquette with the Orioles, with the umpires and then with Dave Dombrowski (of the Tigers). But I've had no trade discussions, so false. One hundred percent false."

According to the source, Loria said in his conversation about A-Rod with Levine, "Alex is Mr. Miami; it would be great if he played here for us."

To which Levine is said to have replied, "You can have him."

A second source with knowledge of Rodriguez's thinking said the likely only place Rodriguez eventually would accept a trade to is Miami. Rodriguez has five years and $114 million remaining on his contract, not including milestone home run bonuses.

"I love the Yankees. I love this organization," Rodriguez said. "My focus right now is to help this team come together and win a game. Do not allow all this negativity and questions and gossip stuff or this crap or that crap, let's just focus on winning a game and go from there ... What I will tell you is I hope nothing is going on like that at this point because our only focus, from top to bottom, is to win a baseball game right now."

Levine refused to directly comment on the conversation with Loria or what it would take to trade Rodriguez.

Appearing Sunday on Ian O'Connor's show on ESPN New York 98.7 FM, Levine told O'Connor the following regarding A-Rod's future as a Yankee:

"That's like one of those questions: Where's the stock market going to be in 2017? Who's going to be president on Nov. 15?. If I had a crystal ball to predict all of that stuff, I'd be a lot smarter than I am. I'm not going to go there."

Rodriguez has been marginalized in the Yankees' lineup this postseason. He entered Wednesday night 3 for 23, including 0 for 18 with 12 strikeouts against right-handers, and repeatedly has been benched and pinch hit for in the playoffs.

He was not in the starting lineup for Game 4 of the AL Championship Series on Wednesday night before it was postponed because of the threat of rain.

"For all our fan base: Let's root for Alex, the contract is what it is, and he's there, and we hope he gets hot," Levine told O'Connor. "It's part of what we deal with all the time, just like any other contract."

It isn't unprecedented for Levine, along with ownership, to lead a deal. Two winters ago, the Yankees signed Rafael Soriano after Cashman had ruled out the possibility. Levine, with the backing of owner Hal Steinbrenner, brokered a deal for the right-hander.

The question that still needs to be answered is how much of the contract the Yankees would be willing to eat. The Marlins may want the Yankees to take reliever Heath Bell, who is owed $18 million over the next two years, plus has a team option for $9 million for 2015. He could have some use for the Yankees because Soriano may opt out of his contract after this season.

Bell could provide insurance for Mariano Rivera's return as the team's closer. If Rivera is fine, Bell could team with David Robertson to set up Rivera.

something to keep an eye on.
I would think the Yankees would have to pick up an awful large part of that contract, but maybe the Yankees can afford to do that since at least in the playoffs now ARod has been brutal.
no idea what type of talent the Yankees could get back in a trade.

do you think the Yankees should do this?
do you actually see this happening?
how do you think ARod could/should do in Miami? he is only 115 HR behind the all time HR record holder Bary Bonds with 762. he has 5 years left on his current contract. he would need to average 23 HR in each of the next 5 seasons just to tie Bonds. health would be a factor. because of injuries he has missed time in each of the last 2 seasons and has only had 18 HR this season and 16 HR last season.

[RyeWhiskey]

I can see this happening although I have no idea why we're discussing this now as the Yankees are still in the playoffs (at least technically speaking).

For the Marlins that would presumably make the top of their order: Reyes, Ruggiano, ARod, Stanton, Lee.
For the Yankees it makes you wonder if they're pulling a Boston. Next out: Granderson. Then who knows?

[SpecialFNK]

ARod would not block a trade.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Alex Rodriguez has told friends he wouldn't block a trade.
A-Rod's massive contract with the Yankees includes a full no-trade clause, so he holds veto power over deals that GM Brian Cashman might try to orchestrate this winter. Reports indicate that the Marlins are already expressing interest, though talks can't get serious until after the World Series. A-Rod is owed $114 million over the next five years. The Yanks would have to eat most of that.

[dannahann]

Good for the Yankees if they can do it, but what's in it for the Marlins? ARod probably isn't even a league average 3B right now, is on a steep decline, and doesn't appear to have an "age gracefully" personality. If anything he's been more coddled and spoiled than Hanley and they eventually tired of his shenanigans. Even if NYY paid his entire salary and just asked Miami to pick of the milestone HR incentives I'd be leery. I think it's just reporters creating a story from what was said as a joke.

[jfg]

Ideally it would be better for the Yankees to just make him a bench player since they'd have to eat the salary anyway, but the reality is that it's easier for both parties to have fans complain about the salary being paid to him sitting on another teams bench rather than the Yankees. It's going to be a huge distraction if fans are loudly booing him for the next 5 years.

The incentive is that maybe he gives the Marlins or any other team get a few good seasons out of the spotlight of NY. It's not much of a gamble. If not, couldn't the team just option him to the minors knowing they aren't on the hook for salary? It would be a sad finish for ARod, but he signed the long contract, and he'd still get paid.

[mweir145]

Even this year's ARod wasn't anywhere near bad enough to be a bench player. He put up 2.2 WAR in 122 games.

[SpecialFNK]

he still has name value and that could help attendance.
I don't think it's a bad move for Miami if NY is picking up a huge chunk of the contract. ARod could still put up decent numbers for Miami based on how much Miami would be paying him.

I wondered about the future of ARod even before this story came out. the other night when ARod was sitting on the bench late in the game the Yankees looked to have no interest in using ARod to pinch hit, and the announcer even talked about how ARod looked to have no interest to pinch hit himself either. I think it was the announcer then who said ARod has checked out.

[jfg]

Even this year's ARod wasn't anywhere near bad enough to be a bench player. He put up 2.2 WAR in 122 games.

That's true. With the regression and distractions though, I don't think he'll ever be able to put up even those numbers in NY again, and even if he does it won't be enough for NY fans. The question is, would the numbers he put up this year stop him from getting booed in a different city once the welcome wears off? I think any fans outside of NY could forgive bad seasons at the end of his contract, but if he's mediocre the 1st year in a new city he might hear the boo birds again.

[mweir145]

he still has name value and that could help attendance.
I don't think it's a bad move for Miami if NY is picking up a huge chunk of the contract. ARod could still put up decent numbers for Miami based on how much Miami would be paying him.

I wondered about the future of ARod even before this story came out. the other night when ARod was sitting on the bench late in the game the Yankees looked to have no interest in using ARod to pinch hit, and the announcer even talked about how ARod looked to have no interest to pinch hit himself either. I think it was the announcer then who said ARod has checked out.

Sounds like an idiot announcer, I'm guessing Sutcliffe.

[mweir145]

Even this year's ARod wasn't anywhere near bad enough to be a bench player. He put up 2.2 WAR in 122 games.

That's true. With the regression and distractions though, I don't think he'll ever be able to put up even those numbers in NY again, and even if he does it won't be enough for NY fans. The question is, would the numbers he put up this year stop him from getting booed in a different city once the welcome wears off? I think any fans outside of NY could forgive bad seasons at the end of his contract, but if he's mediocre the 1st year in a new city he might hear the boo birds again.

Who cares? He's a professional baseball player with a history of dealing with huge distractions and doing it to great success. If he's still healthy and capable of providing starter value, I don't anticipate that boos will be a problem for him no matter his home city (which will, in all likelihood, still be New York).

There are some teams might not want ARod for the supposed distraction that he'd bring to his new organization, but I think that's terribly overplayed by the New York media. If a move to acquire him makes financial and baseball sense, I don't see the possibility of him getting booed by the home crowd at some indeterminate point down the road playing a role in that organization's decision making.