Major League Baseball may have suspended Alex Rodriguez for the 2014 regular season and postseason, but they never said anything about spring training and the 32 games that will be played there. As it turns out, Rodriguez very much plans on attending spring training with the Yankees in two months, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN.
Alex Rodriguez still planning to attend Yankees spring training
Rodriguez has been suspended for 162 games, but that isn’t going to keep him from doing whatever he can to play.
Alex Rodriguez suspended 162 games
An independent arbitrator has reduced A-Rod's suspension by nearly 50 games. Rodriguez could have his equipment shipped and his plane tickets bought already, but that doesn’t mean that the Yankees will necessarily allow him to join them. Given the overwhelming probability that the third baseman will indeed miss the entirety of the 2014 season, New York might not be willing to give him any time at the expense of players who will actually be with the team next year.
Another reason the Yankees may not want him around: New York is surely tired of the drama the Rodriguez saga has contained and would rather not turn spring training -- when everyone is focusing on getting in shape for the season -- into a circus.
While the Yankees will be off the hook for Rodriguez’s $25 million salary in 2014, they do still owe him another $61 million for the three years following that. The overwhelming opinion around baseball is that the Yankees will choose to take the financial hit and cut ties with Rodriguez, moving on with other options at third base for the future.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, will pursue legal options as he still maintains that he is innocent and that his suspension is entirely unjust.
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