Yankees Alex Rodriguez May Be Running Out of Time

New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez is running out of time to prove he still belongs in the major leagues, with many calling for his release.

After receiving just one start in the last ten games before the All Star break, Alex Rodriguez has returned to more or less everyday duty to start the second half, appearing in six of manager Joe Girardi’s first seven lineups since then.

While you could argue that A-Rod will need regular reps at the plate to sort out whatever issues he’s been struggling with this season, there have been few signs of a turnaround as of yet. Coming into Friday’s game, Rodriguez was 2-for-23 with just one extra base hit since the break.

He did pop career home run number 696 Monday off of Kevin Gausman, the difference in the Yankees 2-1 win over Baltimore, but it was just his ninth home run of the season and his first in a month.

The Yankees have provided Alex Rodriguez with a very long leash to sort himself out this season, not only because of the $21 million owed to him this year and next, but because he was a central figure in one of the league’s best offenses just one season ago.

It’s hard to overstate just how good Rodriguez was in 2015, hitting .250/.356/.486 (129 wRC+). His 33 homers were his most since 2008. Many saw some decline as inevitable, but A-Rod has been just miserable this year, putting up a .210/.260/.371 (64 wRC+) slash line through 223 PA.

Girardi had been using Rodriguez in a platoon role because of his massive splits this season, but the truth is, A-Rod has barely been league average against left handed pitching, batting .246/.306/.446 (97 wRC+). That’s fine, but it doesn’t warrant him hitting cleanup against southpaws as the Yankees have been doing.

The fact that he’s ever in the lineup against righties is frankly astounding. His 48 wRC+ is the sixteenth lowest in MLB this season among batters with at least 100 PA, with a .193/.238/.336 slash.

Although calling for the Yankees to release A-Rod has been popular all the way back to 2014, the idea has really begun to spill a lot of digital ink in the past two months. Now it may have become a real consideration for the team’s decision makers. According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:

"Some New York Yankees people have discussed whether, if they decide to sell, they might consider releasing great veterans Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to get on with the rebuild."

Texieira is a free agent after the season and can still add value with his glove when he’s not hitting. Unfortunately, neither of those things can be said for Rodriguez. Do the Yankees really want to commit a 2017 roster spot to a 41-year-old platoon DH who can’t play a position, run the bases, or hit same-sided pitching?

Next: Projecting the 2017 Yankees Lineup

If they don’t want A-Rod for next year, it does probably make sense to just cut him now to give the Yankees more opportunity to assess potential replacements. It appears New York will be leaning very heavily on rookies next year barring any big moves. If that’s the case, the sooner you can get some of those kids up and playing every day, the better.