Why Would A-Rod Stay?
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by Braab86
The back-and-forth between Scott Boras and the Yankees regarding a contract extension for Alex Rodriguez concluded, as expected, without an extension. It's been suggested that this was all a ploy by the Yankees to turn the fans against A-Rod, thus making the Yankees look better when they lose him to free agency. If that's true...where have the Yankees been the last few years? The fans were already against A-Rod. That exactly why he's going to leave, though it's not the only reason.
The fact is, A-Rod has a lot more to gain by leaving. Not only can he stick to the franchise that's gotten him booed and batted him 8th in the lineup of a series-clinching playoff game, but he stands to make at least an extra $5 million annually. There is no doubt that A-Rod can be baseball's first $30 million man if he opts out of his contract at the end of the season. He is only 31 and will have reached 500 career home runs by the end of the year (maybe by the end of the month). He's got a great chance to be the all-time home run leader by the end of his career (though we said the same thing about Ken Griffy Jr. You just never know.).
There are those who say that the Yankees should let him go and spend the $25 million on a couple of players, as they try to rebuild, but no so fast. The Rangers are paying $16 million each year of A-Rod's contract and that money will be gone if he opts out. This would be devastating to the Yankees, who will probably not make the playoffs as it is and certainly would not be remotely in playoff contention if not for A-Rod. Losing their best player and only have an extra $11 million to spend (even though we all know the Yankees can spend more than that) would be a huge blow to the once-dominant franchise.
Meanwhile, A-Rod can go to another city where he will be better appreciated and, who knows, maybe he'll even win. There will be pressure for him to win anywhere that he goes, but not like in New York, where it's been World Series or bust for the last several years. It will be, at first, a fairly painless separation. A-Rod will be glad to be gone and the Yankees fans will feel that they can win without him. They'll be in for a shock when they realize just how much better A-Rod is than Derek Jeter and how, if A-Rod couldn't carry their mediocre squad, Jeter certainly can't.
