What Now for A-Rod and the Yankees?

With their game 4 loss to the Cleveland Indians, a tumultuous offseason has kicked off for the New York Yankees. No issue looms larger than the two headed monster of Alex Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras. Speculation has run rampant throughout the media, not only from journalists in New York, but from writers in cities that have already turned their attention to the hot stove league and see Rodriguez as a potential panacea for the ailments that caused expectations to go unfulfilled.

The Yankees are the obvious frontrunners to resign Rodriguez, though it will obviously come at a tremendous cost. Expect the Yankees to push heavily to extend Rodriguez’s current contract, taking advantage of the $21 million subsidy provided by the Texas Rangers over the remaining three years of the contract. The incentive to sign Rodriguez becomes heightened when considering the fact that the makeup of the team appears to be shifting. After a year in which the offense propped up a struggling pitching staff that employed multiple unknowns early in the season and carried the team to the postseason, it is doubtful that the Bombers will be able to live up to their moniker with a lineup missing Rodriguez in the clean up spot. With diminishing returns from the likes of aging superstars such as Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, and Bobby Abreu and few positional prospects on the immediate horizon beyond Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, the Yankees can ill afford to lose the immense offensive production of Rodriguez, who, in spite of his postseason struggles, has served as one of the primary drivers in ensuring that the Yankees even have a chance to disappoint their legions in the postseason. With an apparent bright future for the pitching staff with the likes of Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain, particularly if headed by the veteran leadership of Pettitte, questions about the offense are likely to face the Yankees should Rodriguez depart. Looming over all of this is the final season of the House that Ruth Built and the opening of the new Yankee Stadium in 2009, which provide even more impetus for George Steinbrenner to keep Rodriguez in Yankee pinstripes.

Much of the speculation about competition for Rodriguez has centered on the Angels. With a clear hole in the lineup behind Vladimir Guerrero, exacerbated by the front row seat the Angels possessed for the show that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez put on in their Division Series, the Angels have been designated as a party likely to pounce on Rodriguez. In spite of owner Arte Moreno’s known fondness for Rodriguez; he does not seem to fit into the organizational philosophy of the Angels, who are unlikely to throw close to one third of their entire payroll at one player.

In looking for a more likely destination for Rodriguez, one need only look up the freeway to Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles is a town built on stars and, in spite of the Angels adding Los Angeles to their moniker, the Dodgers still serve as the lead organization in town. However, that gap has diminished significantly with the success of the Angels and the struggles of the Dodgers, both on the field and off, under the ownership of the McCourts. Los Angeles would still provide the major media market that Rodriguez and Boras seem to crave. The Dodgers struggled at the end of the season as the veterans and rookies openly clashed. Rodriguez would appear to serve as an excellent bridge between veterans nearing their retirement and rookies looking to make their mark. Additionally, Rodriguez would be able to stamp the Dodgers as his team, serving as their leader, a role that is and will be unavailable to him as long as Derek Jeter remains in town. On the field, Rodriguez would fill a void at third base that the Dodgers struggled with throughout the year. Additionally, the Dodgers would be able to utilize some of their organizational depth to fill out their pitching staff via trade, dangling a package fronted by the then expendable Andy LaRoche and the talented but seemingly aloof Matt Kemp, perhaps to the Twins as the foundation of an offer for Johan Santana. Frank and Jamie McCourt would have made a signature move that would enable them to thoroughly reclaim Los Angeles as Dodgers territory, while providing the franchise with an Hispanic superstar around whom to build a marketing campaign for the next decade that would rival Kobe Bryant and the Lakers for city wide popularity. The only question then would be, can GM Ned Colletti pry the McCourts’ fingers from their checkbooks long enough to make an offer that catches Scott Boras’ attention?

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