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It’s Alex Rodriguez’s final day in MLB. Probably.
Friday’s Say Hey, Baseball says goodbye to A-Rod, just in case he’s really gone for good.
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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Friday is here — the last day of Alex Rodriguez’s career as a Major League Baseball player. The Yankees have been waiting for this moment since they convinced A-Rod to hang it up a year and change early, and Joe Girardi is waking up happy this morning knowing that he won’t have to answer anymore questions about why he’s not playing an MLB legend during the last week of his career.
This was the only way his retiring was going to make sense, though. Abruptly, with a hint of controversy mixed in. Well, maybe a little more than a hint, depending on how the conversations the Marlins have been having about bringing Rodriguez in after the Yankees release him went. Remember, A-Rod isn’t retiring on Friday. He’s being released by the Yankees, then coming back in a mentoring role next spring. If the Marlins want him to play baseball while New York is paying him for the rest of 2016, then A-Rod will play baseball in Miami to close out the season.
It’s likely nothing will come of said conversations, and that Friday will indeed be the final day Alex Rodriguez suits up as a player for an MLB team. It’s perfectly fine if this is the end: A-Rod is one of the greatest players in baseball history, a lightning rod in the industry well before PEDs ever came up, and he did his time when he was caught with them, anyway — well, when MLB obstructed a federal investigation to make sure he was caught with them so Bud Selig could use his last year as commissioner as a victory lap, but who remembers such unimportant details? We’ll all miss the chaos that A-Rod brought when it’s gone, both on and off the field, whether you want to admit it. You’ve got strong feelings about him, positive or negative, and baseball could use more universal figures like that.
- A reminder that Aaron Hicks has been significantly worse than A-Rod this year, and that Yankees fans can expect to see more of him, not less, going forward.
- Jose Bautista has been merely good this year, and that plus his age and injuries could hurt his chances at a huge deal this winter.
- Prince Fielder has earned every penny the Rangers still have to pay him, even if he’s never going to play another game.
- Fielder’s goodbye press conference was emotional, but he still managed to touch Adrian Beltre’s head one last time.
- Something is wrong with the Giants’ lineup, and Grant Brisbee is going to figure it out.
- So, the Cubs demoted Tommy La Stella to Triple-A even though he’s been hitting very well in 2016. La Stella hasn’t reported to the minors, the Cubs put him on the temporary inactive list, and now La Stella is threatening to retire. It’s a complicated situation that you won’t find in your regular 9-to-5.
- Carlos Gomez was designated for assignment by the Astros, but a reunion with the Brewers wouldn’t make sense given their current youthful outfield. He might be worth the risk to the Mets, though, given their interest in him a year ago combined with their own outfield woes.
- Zach Britton is having himself a season in relief for the Orioles.
- Old friend Claire McNear is now over at The Ringer, and she asked if there’s a right way to say goodbye in baseball. The 2016 season has certainly brought a mix of farewells to the table, some not as uplifting or enjoyable as others.
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