Hal Steinbrenner calls Alex Rodriguez an asset, talks about Masahiro Tanaka

Alex Rodriguez's recent actions may have left a bad taste in the mouth of baseball fans everywhere, but his own, Hal Steinbrenner, doesn't appear to see things that way.

At the Major League Baseball quarterly owners meetings, Steinbrenner called A-Rod an "asset" to the club, and didn't rule out the suspended slugger from returning to play in pinstripes again in 2015.

“He’s a great player,” Steinbrenner said in his first public comments since Fredric Horowitz reduced A-Rod’s suspension from 211-games to 162-games. “I have not thought about 2015, nor am I going to right now. My focus has to be right now. But when he’s on and when he’s healthy, he’s obviously an asset. We’ll see what happens.”

The Yankees, even though they're saving $22 million by Rodriguez being suspended this upcoming season, still owe him $61 million over the final three years of his contract. Many have been calling for the Yankees to just write him the check and let him go him away.

“When Alex Rodriguez is healthy and himself, I think most objective baseball people would say he could be an asset to a club.” Steinbrenner said.

Of course, though, some of the biggest talk about what happens next with A-Rod is about the Yankees will do it he tries to show up at Spring Training in Tampa next month. Because he isn't on the 40-man roster, the Yanks can technically send him the minor league camp across the street, but we'll see what happens when the time comes.

“We haven’t even talked about it." said Steinbrenner. "Cross that bridge when we come to it kind of thing. We’re going to reach out to [Major League Baseball], get their advice obviously, but haven’t even addressed it.”

Hal speaks about Masahiro Tanaka:

An even bigger issue for the Yankees other than A-Rod has been their pursuit of free-agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Hal confirmed that he and the Yankees have had talks with Tanaka's agent, Casey Close, but would not comment on any face-to-face meetings.

“I think a lot of teams are interested,” Steinbrenner said. “This is a great, young pitcher. I’m sure he’ll come here and do great things with someone. We certainly have an interest. I believe we need another starter. But we’ll see what happens.”

And Tanaka is the top starter on their radar. There hasn't been much interest in any of the other top starting pitchers on their market. A report from Newsday in New York on Wednesday, the Yankees don't plan on making anymore moves until the Tanaka situation is resolved.

“I can only tell you we’re in the market for another starting pitcher,” Steinbrenner said, “and (Tanaka) is certainly going to be one we’re looking at.”

The Los Angeles Dodger appear to be the biggest threat to steal Tanaka away from the Bombers, and Close, who also represents Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw, just landed the two-time Cy Young winning in Kershaw a record-breaking contract extension for seven-years, $215 million, and it's possible that Los Angeles could still be in the race to get the Japanese right-hander.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Alex Rodriguez sues MLB and MLBPA to overturn suspension

Alex Rodriguez has officially filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Association -- the people that are fighting on his side -- in an attempt to overturn his 162-game suspension handed down by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on Saturday.

According to Steve Eder of the New York Times, A-Rod's suit seeks to "vacate" the ruling of arbitrator Horowitz. As Eder writes:

"In the court filing, which named Major League Baseball and the players union, his lawyers sought to vacate his ban for the 2014 season and to hold the players union responsible for its breaches of the duty of fair representation owed to Rodriguez. 

"The filing accuses Fredric Horowitz, Major League Baseball's chief arbitrator, of exhibiting “a manifest disregard for the law” and claims that he was not impartial and that he refused to hear evidence in Rodriguez's appeal of the suspension imposed against him last year."

In his suit, A-Rod claimed the Players Association "completely abdicated its responsibility to Mr. Rodriguez to protect his rights" and "this inaction by MLBPA created a climate in which MLB felt free to trample" on Rodriguez's confidentiality rights.

I'm sure this comes as a big surprise to the Players', considering that they have been fighting on his side this whole time -- even though they probably want nothing to do with him. Even after last night, when they released a statement that sited "breeches" in the CBA by MLB after sharing information about Horowitz's decision on "60 Minutes' Sunday night. The MLBPA mentioned in the statement they were considering legal actions because of it.

Then A-Rod went on to release all the papers in Horowitz's decision, which a federal judge had ruled earlier in the day that he could not file sealed.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Cutting A-Rod is the only way for the Yankees to stop the madness

Not even the Bronx Zoo can compare to the circus that Alex Rodriguez has brought to the Yankees. With all of the chaos surrounding A-Rod and the 162 game suspension that was announced on Saturday, the embattled third baseman still plans to show up at the Yankees' Spring Training complex when the team gets there in mid-February.

Because the suspension removes him from the 40-man roster, A-Rod has to be invited to Spring Training by the Yankees, and there is no way that would ever happen.

In all likelihood, he's going to show up -- along with the 10,000 media members following him around -- and the Yankees are going to tell him that he can do his business across the street, away from the Major League that is actually trying to prepare to win a championship this season.

But no matter what the Yankees try to do to him, he's going to fight it tooth and nail just like he's done with everything else.

At this point, no one wants to have to deal with another minute of the A-Rod fiasco. Not MLB. Not the Yankees. And I'm sure the MLBPA is tired of having to defend him.

And there is only one way that the Yankees can truly get this to stop being a distraction in the clubhouse -- they cut him. Even after the season-long ban, the Yankees will still own Rodriguez $61 million over the next three seasons. All in guaranteed money that they're not getting back.

So no matter where A-Rod is two, three years from now, the Yankees are going to be paying him, and there is almost nothing they can do about -- the best they could do to this point was hope that Frederick Horowitz ruled in favor of a long suspension, and they got that.

But there are a few different factors that play into Hal Steinbrenner having to make that decision: 1. How good is he going to be once he comes back in 2015, and 2. Is eating $61 million really worth getting rid of this guy for good?

You can look at it from a few different angles, mainly depending on who's side you're on here.

From the on-the-field perspective, A-Rod would be the best third baseman on the Yankees' roster if he were allowed the play this season. Remember how bad Yankees third baseman were performing last season until A-Rod stepped in? Let's just say he hit more homeruns and drove in more RBIs in his short stay compared to the rest of the players that trotted out there combined.

Obviously A-Rod is far from the player he was in his prime, but he's still a heck of a lot better than Eduardo Nunez, when healthy.

Of the Yankees choose to keep him on the team, they can let him come back in 2015, see what he has to offer to the team on the field, then make a decision from there. The Yankees don't seem to be making any trade for Chase Headly anytime soon, so giving A-Rod a chance to prove himself is worth the shot.

Or you can look at this situation the way a lot of people are: Get the distraction out of there as soon as possible. Like I said before, the last thing Derek Jeter wants to do this Spring Training is answer questions about a guy that's not even going to be on the field with him this season. Instead, he wants to focus about getting back on the field and helping the Yankees get back to the playoffs.

The Yankees didn't spend a ton of money for A-Rod to be the headline of the team. Getting ready for for the upcoming season should be priority No. 1, not what A-Rod is doing across the street at minor league camp.

No matter how you look at this situation, A-Rod is also effecting the team with everything he is doing. I know that just about every guy in the Yankees' clubhouse has been around the game for awhile and knows how to conduct business in a professional manner, but this is a distraction that can't be a part of the daily schedule.

So, Hal Steinbrenner, you've got a choice to make: Do you let this A-Rod story become a part for the clubhouse all season and what for his return in 2015, or do you write the check for $61 million and waive goodbye to Alex Rodriguez for the final time? It's not an easy decision, but it's one he has to make.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Yankees could relegate A-Rod to minor-league camp in spring

When Frederick Horowitz announced a 162 suspension on Alex Rodriguez this season, it didn't put an end to the soap opera surrounding the embattled third base, it only got things started.

When the Yankees show up for Spring Training in the middle of February, A-Rod is expected to be there, too, because, well, he has the right to be. Unless the Yankees step in and say otherwise, which is exactly what they can do.

If A-Rod shows up to Steinbrenner Field in February, the Yankees could relegate him to their minor league camp, rather than having him with the big league club for a normal Spring Training.

Because of the suspension, he's not on the Yankees' 40-man roster, and that means he would have to be invited to attend Major League Spring Training, and there is nothing that says the Yankees have to do that. So instead of working out with Derek Jeter, Jacoby Ellsbury and the rest of his usual teammates, he'll be practicing with a bunch minor leaguers.

And here's the funniest part, in my opinion, of the original report by Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com:

One official said the Yankees could go as far as to have Rodriguez on the minor league side but instruct their coaches to basically ignore him -- to not hit him grounders or throw him batting practice.

It would be quite funny to see the highlight clips on ESPN everyday of A-Rod standing off to the side while everyone on the field -- both coaches and players -- is ignoring him. Unless you're A-Rod, of course, because then it wouldn't be very funny.

But if the Yankees want to avoid going through this situation completely, they could decide to eat the remaining $61 million on his contract that he is owed for the next three seasons after 2014, effectively ending all relationships between he and the Yankees. Though as of now, there have not been any talks of the Yankees doing that, but it is something to watch as the time passes.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Now off the hook for A-Rod's 2014 salary, what do the Yanks do next?

Now that Alex Rodriguez has been officially banned for the entire 2014 season, the new question is, "what will the Yankees do next?"

With A-Rod's contract off the books for this season, the Yankees now have an extra $24 million to spend this offseason. The Yankees salary cap right now is currently at $151 million, but teams are generally charged about $16 million throughout the season for insurance and minor league call-ups.

With holes in their rotation, bullpen and infield, the Yankees face some tough decisions in the near future.

The Yankees have two options; one is to continue to go all out with spending just as they have done this whole offseason, or they can find ways to be creative in building their team and filling spots. Having just signed Scott Sizemore to compete to fill their third base hole, the Yankees will now dedicate a lot of their time to look for pitching.

Hal Steinbrenner appears to still be pushing for Masahiro Tanaka to sign with New York. If the Yankees were to sign Tanaka, there is no way they could stay under the luxury tax. If this happened, due to already being over the tax, the Yankees would most likely keep pushing to bring in big named free agents.

It has been rumored that if the Yankees sign Tanaka, they will also go after Ubaldo Jimenez. These two guys would be Steinbrenner's solution to the rotation gap, but it would not fix the luxury tax issue.

If the Yankees decide to take the spending route, they also need bullpen help. Some names that have come up in discussion to fill the holes in the Yankees bullpen are Grant Balfour, Francisco Rodriguez and Oliver Perez among others. The addition of these veteran relievers would strengthen the Yankees bullpen and provide them with depth.

However, if Tanaka were to sign elsewhere, the Yankees front office would have a tough decision to make. to keep spending, or try to do what they did a few years back when they had a six man rotation with Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon on the back end of the rotation.

Some players that can fill this role are Bruce Chen and Erik Bedard. These players are cheap options that can sign for less than $1 million and be very effective throughout the 2014 season.

They Yankees have always wanted to "win now" and by going the spending route, they can accomplish just that.

Follow @AdamIsrael16 Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

What will the Yanks do at third base after A-Rod's suspension?

All along, it wasn't really a matter of if it was a matter of when. Alex Rodriguez has officially been suspended for the entire 2014 season for his role in the Biogenesis scandal. The suspension means that the Yankees won't have their very expensive third baseman next season, and now they have some decisions to make.

Do they sign a third baseman? The Yankees have been interested in re-signing Mark Reynolds all winter. They've been staying in contact with him, but nothing is reportedly close to happening anytime soon, and Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News says that the Yankees have only offered him a minor-league deal, which he obviously won't accept.

Reynolds is a guy that the Yankees like while he was with the club down the final stretch of last season. He provides power in the lineup, and a right-handed hitter with power could be very beneficial for Joe Girardi when making his daily lineups.

He's got a decent glove at third base, one much better than A-Rod and his two hip surgeries. Re-signing Reynolds could probably come pretty cheap -- and anything is cheap compared to the $24 million that the Yankees were going to be paying A-Rod in 2014.

Michael Young is also a name that has been floated around. Saturday morning, just hours before this whole A-Rod fiasco began, ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand reported that the Yankees will still consider Young, along with Reynolds at third base.

Don't be too excited about this. Young is far from the player he was in his prime. His bat is not nearly as good as it was, maybe, five years ago, and though he is fairly versatile in the field, he gives you almost nothing good with his glove and his range.

Stephan Drew was a rumored option earlier in the offseason, but general manager Brian Cashman said a couple weeks ago that the Yankees are not going to sign Drew, so he can be crossed off the list.

What about some options already on the roster? Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts and Dean Anna, could all be possible third base options come next season.

Johnson brings some pop to the lineup. He'll benefit from hitting with the short porch in right field, But on the down side, his glove is not that great to have him playing third base on a daily basis. The best option would be to at least platoon him with someone, and maybe Eduardo Nunez could be the man, assuming he even makes the team out of Spring Training.

Anna can play around the infield, including third base. He is one of the most under looked players currently on the 40-man roster. His bat is good enough to get him in the Opening Day roster, and could very well be a regular start this season.

Roberts, in all likeliness, will be the Yankees' staring second baseman in 2014. Though he can play third base, he probably won't see much, if any, time at the hot corner, with there being a few more reliable candidates above him.

The Yankees finally got the the answer they were looking for, being told that they will be without A-Rod next season. However, the real problem is just getting started -- who's on third? Heck, I don't know, and neither do the Yankees.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Alex Rodriguez suspended for the entire 2014 season

We knew it was likely coming, but it finally happened Saturday afternoon when arbitrator Frederick Horowitz announced he would be reducing the 211-game ban on third baseman Alex Rodriguez to just the entire 2014 season, including the playoffs, for for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

Rodriguez also announced that he plans to fight the ruling in a federal court, as we all expected. However, his court fight is unlikely to go far, and will probably be a waste of time for all involved.

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in a statement. "This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable.

"This injustice is MLB's first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review."

MLB defended the length of the original suspension in a news release.

"For more than five decades, the arbitration process under the Basic Agreement has been a fair and effective mechanism for resolving disputes and protecting player rights," MLB said in the statement. "While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the Panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game."

The Yankees also responded in a statement of their own, saying that they "respect Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the arbitration process, as well as the decision released today by the arbitration panel."

A spokeswoman for Bosch said he thought the suspension was deserved.

"Tony Bosch doesn't take joy in seeing Alex Rodriguez suspended from baseball, but he believes the arbitrator's decision was appropriate," Joyce Fitzpatrick said in a statement. "He is glad to have the arbitration behind him and believes he can play a valuable role in the future by educating athletes about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs."

With the full-season suspension, the Yankees will no longer be on the hook for A-Rod's salary in 2014, saving them just over $24 million on the luxury-tax threshold.

Rodriguez also said that he plans to be in Tampa when the Yankees report in about a month. The Yankees and Major League Baseball will meet over the next few days to decide what will happen with A-Rod when Spring Training comes around.

They could tell him not to show up for Spring Training, but under the current rules, he has the right to show up, participate in workouts and play in the games.

Even though his suspension was reduced, this could still be the end of A-Rod's career. He will turn 39-years-old this year, and is still owed $61 million in the final three years of his contract after this season. The Yankees could decide to cut him, eat the remaining $61 million, and it would be highly unlikely that any team ever signs him again.

Through all of this, A-Rod has stuck to his side of the story, standing firm that he has never taken any such PED's or HGH as documented by Bosch and MLB.

"I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court," Rodriguez said in his statement. "I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension.

"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

"I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

Alex Rodriguez might consider accepting a lesser suspension

For weeks and even months leading up to the impending suspension announcement by arbitrator Frederick Horowitz, we've been under the impression that Alex Rodriguez will bring almost any type of suspension to a federal court.

But now with the Hall of Fame announcement now behind us, and Horowitz's decision on deck -- possibly coming Friday at the earliest -- Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com is reporting that A-Rod might consider accepting a suspension of anything less than 100 games.

The reason being, if Rodriguez were to bring this battle to a court room, it would cost him "at least $10 million, with no guarantee of winning," a source told Matthews, while a 100-game ban would cost him $15,425,000 of his scheduled $25 million salary for 2014.

"All of this has been presented to Alex and he is weighing his options," the source said. "In certain situations it may not make much sense to continue to fight."

Things have surely changed since A-Rod stormed out of the courtroom during his appeal hearing back in November, when he went on the radio and said that he shouldn't even have to serve 1 inning of a suspension, and that his team was willing to fight any ruling against them.

"It's not just a matter of money," the source told Matthews. "It's also about the mental anguish of going through this and not knowing if or when you're going to play again. Alex might decide to take his medicine and move on."

Of course, we're still waiting to hear what this decision is. A-Rod's camp has been saying that they still have not been notified of any announcement forthcoming.

Like I said, it's possible that we could hear something as soon as Friday. Either way, the Yankees just want to know if they need to pay him this season so they can spend the money on someone else if needed.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More

A-Rod verdict likely next Friday at the earliest

It's been a few months since Alex Rodriguez began his appeal of the 211-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball, and much of the Yankees' offseason plans have direct ties to the decision that independent arbitrator Frederick Horowitz is expected to hand out very soon.

According to multiple reports, a verdict isn't expected to come down until next Friday, at the earliest. The case for that being that it won't come down until a couple days after the Hall of Fame announcement next week.

No one wants the Hall of Fame announcement to be overshadowed by such a dark cloud of news.

Of course, Horowitz doesn't have to play by MLB's rules when making his decision, and could announced his decision on the day of the HOF announcement if he really wanted to.

Originally, there were some thoughts that Horowitz could make his decision as early as today or even this weekend, by Mike Puma of the NY Post says it probably won't be coming until late next week.

The reason for that: "Rodriguez’s camp had not been notified as of Thursday that a decision was forthcoming," writes Puma. "and did not expect anything to "come from out of the blue" before the end of the week."

The Yankees have been secretly rooting for at least a season-long suspension of A-Rod because it would save them nearly $27.5 million this upcoming season, plus a $6 million bonus if he passes Willie Mays on the all-time homeruns list. A-Rod is also dues a $3 million signing bonus on January 15th, but there is no word as to how the arbitrator's decision will affect that.

At this point, it would be almost impossible for them to get under the self-imposed $189 million luxury-tax threshold, even if A-Rod's suspension is upheld for all of 2014. Anything less than a full season would ensure they don't get under the tax mark.

Follow @GavinEwbank Follow @YanksBeatBlog

Read More