Yankees to Hold Press Conference with Alex Rodriguez

The New York Yankees have announced they will hold a press conference with struggling designated hitter Alex Rodriguez on Sunday at 11 am.

The Alex Rodriguez drama will apparently be resolved one way or another Sunday morning, as the New York Yankees will hold a press conference regarding their fading superstar.

The topic of the press conference wasn’t announced, but it is pretty easy to read between the lines. The 40-year-old Rodriguez has followed up his surprisingly productive 2015 campaign by hitting .204/.252/.356 (58 wRC+) with nine home runs in 234 plate appearances for the Yankees this year.

Rodriguez has started exactly one game in the past two weeks, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Even before the recent promotion of Gary Sanchez, A-Rod didn’t really have a role on the team. With Sanchez tearing it up in his first few games in the Bronx, it seems even more pointless to keep Rodriguez on the roster. 

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Girardi will both be on hand for the press conference, further increasing the likelihood that this is major news.

There are basically two possibilities. The Yankees have either decided to release Alex Rodriguez or they have convinced him it would be more dignified to retire. He certainly doesn’t need the remaining money on his contract, and would make for a nicer story.

This announcement will come right on the heels of another emotional moment Friday, when longtime Yankees first baseman and teammate of A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, made it known that he would retire following the 2016 season.

Whether Alex Rodriguez plans to walk away immediately or finish out the season remains to be seen, but probably the Yankees will let him and Teixeira have their victory lap together over the next two months.

Rodriguez needs just four home runs to reach 700 for his career, a feat just three other players in history have accomplished. While he will always be maligned as a “cheater” for using steroids, he is undeniably one of the greatest athletes of his generation, whatever his personal shortcomings.

Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner have both recently come out and said the team had not discussed releasing Alex Rodriguez, although that obviously doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. On Thursday, Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball cited sources within the Yankees baseball operations department who “are ready to move on” from Rodriguez, understandably.

Whatever happens, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is the end of an era for the New York Yankees. They are fully rebuilding for the first time in decades and parting ways with a number of their longest-tenured, iconic superstars. Stay tuned for more on Alex Rodriguez as the day’s news unfolds.