Are Jorge Posada’s Days As Yankee Seriously Numbered?

That headline grabbed you, didn’t it? Sorry. But this story about Jorge Posada is making the rounds:

The real trick would be finding another team willing to pay him the major-league minimum salary after this season.

So why even keep him around at all? Mostly because the Yankees are good enough -- and far enough ahead of their closest competition for a postseason berth -- that they can play with a 24-man roster in the interest of not embarrassing one of their greatest-ever players. The rosters expand in three weeks, and then the roster’s not an issue. Granted, there will still be that moment of embarrassment when Posada doesn’t make the postseason roster.

Or maybe, as Joe Pawlikowski speculates, management is hoping for something else.

But hey, great news now everybody! Via Mark Feinsand:

And more:

Well, on Sunday, Posada has taken steps to make the situation less messy. Writes Gabe Lacques:

Further, in Posada’s own words:

It seems like everyone is chiming in with an opinion of the Jorge Posada situation, including Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. On Saturday evening, Posada admitted he asked for the day off, though he was adamant it was because he needed time to clear his head and allow his sore back to heal, not because manager Joe Girardi moved him to ninth in the lineup.

After the Red Sox downed the Yankees, 6-0, Ortiz spoke to reporters about Posada and the difficulties of being a designated hitter. Ortiz felt the Yankees were doing Posada wrong and was blunt in his assessment about his own role as a DH in Boston.

In the wake of Jorge Posada’s refusal to play for the Yankees tonight after being dropped to ninth in the lineup by Joe Girardi, one rumor that cropped up on Twitter was that Posada would retire. Posada’s father is dispelling that, according to YES Network’s Jack Curry:

I just spoke to Jorge Posada’s father. He said his son isn’t retiring after the game. “No, no, no,” he said. “He will play all year.“Curry got a hold of Jorge Posada Sr. during the middle of the Yankees’ game against the Red Sox, and got plenty of insight, including the note that Posada Sr. thinks his son should have played and the suggestion that Posada’s pride might be the reason for tonight’s incident.

One of the longest-serving Yankees of the modern era, Posada’s seen his power sapped in recent years, and is hitting a miserable .165 in 2011. That might contribute to some of his frustrations with being dropped in the Yankees lineup, but his defiance of Girardi may mean that New York can dock his pay or terminate his contract.

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees are examining their courses of action with regards to Posada, and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal suggests that the Yankees could seek to terminate Posada’s contract if he refuses to play again on Sunday.