Alex Rodriguez Is Officially Back On The Yankees

He’s back…With the World Series ending, a ton of contract time clock started furiously ticking. Players with options in their contracts have about five days to have them either picked up or bought out. In total, it’s about 35 players. However, the Yankees biggest roster change has already happened. Alex Rodriguez’s suspension is over and he is now officially a 40 man roster member of the New York Yankees.

Depending on how you feel about Rodriguez, it is either a warm welcome home or the return of a wart that just will not go away no matter how many times you try to freeze it off. A-Rod, 39, is due $64 million dollars over the next three seasons and early reports seem to indicate that the Yankees will keep him on the roster if he is healthy enough to perform the duties of a major league player. There are plenty of questions concerning his health, as he hasn’t played baseball in over a year and has had surgeries on both hips.

Rodriguez’s last relatively full season was 2012, where he batted .272/18/57 with a .783 OPS in 122 games. Even in 2013 when he batted .244, Rodriguez still had a .348 OBP. He hasn’t hit more than 20 home runs in a season since 2010 when he hit 30 with 125 RBI. Being removed from the game for so long along with his age and (most likely) no longer being on steroids, it is difficult to determine what kind of production the Yankees can expect out of him both at the plate and manning the hot corner.

There are multiple options to pick up a third baseman from free agency this year, most notably Chase Headley. Headley enjoyed moderate success with the team this year after being traded from San Diego. His defensive play really made the difference, but he also hit .262 with a .371 OBP and a .768 OPS. Headley is 30 and will be expecting a contract that will recognize him as a young viable third base option. The other big player is very recent World Series winning Pablo Sandoval. He will most likely receive the biggest third base contract this off-season and will be pursued by multiple teams.

The Yankees are stuck with Rodriguez and his mammoth contract. It gets even more expensive when you realize they will be paying him $6 million dollars for various home run milestones, some of which he will hit this season. He is just 6 home runs shy of Willie Mays for 4^th all-time. If he plays this season and gets his six home runs, he will make $28 million dollars this season.

Rodriguez is officially on the Yankees 40 man roster today. They did not have to make any corresponding moves because of the multiple people that were on the 40 man that are now free agents. Neither the team, nor A-Rod has said anything since his suspension was lifted. In fact, Rodriguez has not used his Twitter since the World Cup in July. In an off-season that the Yankees need to look at adding a ton to the roster, the Rodriguez situation is sure to be one of the most interesting.