Alex Rodriguez pulls the pin

[Evil Yoda]

He has announced his retirement. His last game will be Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Article

He struggled to produce this year, after reasonable comeback last year. I would imaging the Yankees told him he was going to be cut, or he could retire. Or some such thing. Certainly he was a good player despite the fact that he got a lot of chemical help, and a player like that doesn't want to go out being cut. But he was just taking up a roster spot at this point in his career.

He will function with the team in an advisory and consulting capacity through the end of '17. So it appears they're paying him; this is about opening a roster spot. They're not doing anything this year, which makes the move now somewhat odd. I could certainly understand him retiring at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, in Boston, Ortiz is assuredly juicing, but baseball wants him to retire on a high note, so there's zero chance he will be tested.

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A-Rod was released. Had he actually retired, the Yankees would not have been obligated to pay the remainder of his contract. As it stands, he'll sign a new contract as a hitting instructor and still collect the some $28 million due him from the Yankees. That money will, by the way, count against the team's luxury tax next season.

[Evil Yoda]

Thanks. The early article didn't make that clear. Or maybe the Yankees and he agreed to call it retirement as long as he got paid, to help him save face. He's good friends with Manny; they may try to exploit that relationship when the time comes. Two things I'm reasonably certain of: (1) Manny will be paid a great deal of money, and (2) The Angelos clan won't be the ones paying it. They have a long history of cheap. They worked a little bit of it off paying Davis, but I don't think that was the deal they should have made.

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Aug 7, 2016 16:54:32 GMT -5 Evil Yoda said:

Thanks. The early article didn't make that clear. Or maybe the Yankees and he agreed to call it retirement as long as he got paid, to help him save face. He's good friends with Manny; they may try to exploit that relationship when the time comes. Two things I'm reasonably certain of: (1) Manny will be paid a great deal of money, and (2) The Angelos clan won't be the ones paying it. They have a long history of cheap. They worked a little bit of it off paying Davis, but I don't think that was the deal they should have made.

There's not going to be any need for a close-knit relationship; when Manny hits free agency and if the Yankees decide they want him, they'll make him an offer he can't refuse. And since Machado is one of those rare players who can set a new salary ceiling, he'll likely be reminded by the MLBPA of his, ah, institutional responsibilities. In other words, no hometown discounts, if you please.

Some projections put Machado's contract at $400 million (yes, it starts with a 4). The question is if the Orioles can truly foot such a contract. In terms of total revenues by 2015 figures, they run only slightly ahead of small-market Minnesota. The deciding factors would likely be opt-outs and deferred money, which would at least ease the immediate financial burden. I guess the silver lining is Machado's repeated assertions that he wants to stay here. However, lots of players have made the same claim and ultimately wound up wearing a different uniform.

[Evil Yoda]

Aug 7, 2016 23:57:06 GMT -5 @mdrunning said:

There's not going to be any need for a close-knit relationship; when Manny hits free agency and if the Yankees decide they want him, they'll make him an offer he can't refuse. And since Machado is one of those rare players who can set a new salary ceiling, he'll likely be reminded by the MLBPA of his, ah, institutional responsibilities. In other words, no hometown discounts, if you please.

If he wants to offer one, that's his business and not the MLBPA's, in my opinion. But Angelos, based on the past, will expect one, and there is really no reason for Manny to offer one.

Aug 7, 2016 23:57:06 GMT -5 @mdrunning said:

Some projections put Machado's contract at $400 million (yes, it starts with a 4). The question is if the Orioles can truly foot such a contract. In terms of total revenues by 2015 figures, they run only slightly ahead of small-market Minnesota. The deciding factors would likely be opt-outs and deferred money, which would at least ease the immediate financial burden. I guess the silver lining is Machado's repeated assertions that he wants to stay here. However, lots of players have made the same claim and ultimately wound up wearing a different uniform.

What players say before they sign is of little value.

The Angelos clan is making a lot of money off MASN. If they don't want to plow that back into the product, that's their choice. But they ought never to poor mouth, because no one believes them. And they ought not complain if people dislike them when they don't support the team.