Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe–Alex Rodriguez Will Be A Yankee Again In Just Days

Alex Rodriguez‘s season-long PED suspension is about to end.  Bud Selig has given him a “clean slate” and he will be a full-fledged Yankee again in a few days.  Rodriguez is a shell of his former self.  He has had multiple hip surgeries, and hasn’t been able to hit a good fastball in years.  But he will be a Yankee in 2015, and he should help a lineup that simply could not score runs on a consistent basis this season.  The Yankees still owe Rodriguez over $60 million over the next three years.  Hal Steinbrenner is not about to just cut A-Rod a check for that much to just go away.  There is no team that will take on A-Rod’s ridiculous salary, or want to take on a player as radioactive as the former three-time MVP.  The Yankees and Rodriguez are stuck together for at least the 2015 season.

But having Rodriguez may not be the end of the world.  Alex Rodriguez could still be a serviceable player, especially if he does not need to play the field.  The Yankees should make re-signing Chase Headley a priority.  Headley is a Gold Glove-caliber defender at the hot corner, and has shown improvement on offense since coming over from the Padres at the trade deadline.  This would allow Rodriguez to become the full-time DH.  If Rodriguez will be able to recapture some of his former glory, and be a productive player in pinstripes in 2015, it will be as a DH.

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

For the last few seasons, the Yankee philosophy regarding the DH position was to use it as a revolving door to rest their aging lineup.  The idea was supposed to keep the starters fresh and they would be more productive as a whole then employing a full time DH.  The problem with this theory is that most players who play the field on a daily basis perform worse as a DH.  Jason Giambi and Alfonso Soriano notoriously hated DHing and their numbers as a DH were always better when they played the field.  Likewise players such as Carlos Beltran, who spend the majority of this season at DH, had their numbers suffer as a DH because they were banged up.  The Yankees need to stop putting guys who are banged up as their DH and put a healthy professional hitter in that spot on a daily basis.

More from Yankees News

• Yankees chose worst possible player to ring in New Year on 2023 team calendar
• Yankees make upside play, sign former Rangers top prospect outfielder
• Michael Kay’s Anthony Volpe story will get Yankees fans amped for Opening Day
• No, Yankees should not acquire Trevor Bauer for 2023
• Yankees’ Marwin González replaces Red Sox LF in Japan in logical next step

Alex Rodriguez will be a distraction next season.  He will be booed in every stadium.  While this season was somewhat overshadowed by the joy and goodwill of Jeter’s farewell season, next season will be the opposite.  A cloud of hate for Rodriguez will hang over next year’s club, from the time pitchers and catchers report, until the final pitch is thrown (hopefully in late October).  But Rodriguez will get his chance at redemption, most likely batting in the sixth spot as the DH, and while there is a 100% chance he will be booed by Yankee fans in April, if he can get off to a fast start and hit the baseball, they will be gone by June.