New York Yankees Move Alex Rodriguez to Full-Time DH

Alex Rodriguez

Bombers make first smart move in three years with A-Rod at DH

Monday afternoon, the New York Yankees signed third baseman Chase Headley to a four year deal, worth $52 million. The immediate questions that started swirling were whether Alex Rodriguez would return to short-stop. A-Rod, who turns 40 this summer, is still owned $61 million (minimum) until his contract is over in 2017 and is only 6 homers away from passing Willie Mays. Brian Cashman has been adamant on bringing Rodriguez back to the team and contribute, but has now said the Washington Heights native days as an every-day-fielder are over.

In an interview with the Associate Press, Cashman opened up on the slugger being the team’s full-time designated hitter and will have to earn his job on the team. With the exception of Headley, the pinstripes have remained quiet in the winter meetings to spend for new talent and will have time to evaluate A-Rod in three months. If Rodriguez shows signs of any injury and is physically unable to play in spring training, the team will be able to recoup some of their salary for the season, but definitely not close to the large guarantee of $30 million he’s owed.

“I can’t expect Alex to be anything, I’ve got to think the worst and hope for the best. Even before the suspension, he wasn’t the same player at third base on the defensive or offensive side. And that was before the suspension. And now he’s been out of the game for a year. He’s approaching 40 years of age. And just to automatically assume given his circumstances that he’ll be able to plug right in, play third as an everyday guy and hold up and be productive, I think that would be dangerous thinking from my perspective, in the seat I’m sitting in. So given all that circumstance, we look forward to him hopefully solidifying himself as a tremendous DH for us, and if he shows he has retained athleticism, then he can play third as a choice when Joe decides to give Headley a rest. He can compete for Joe’s thought process, whether it’s Prado swinging over or Alex playing third” – Brian Cashman with the Associate Press.

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