Alex Rodriguez may have sued the Major League Baseball Players Association a year ago, but the union will back him if the Yankees attempt to deny him any future payments.
“The union would challenge any breach of contract with the union,” a source close to the MLBPA said Tuesday. “A player can’t be punished again for something he’s already been punished for.”
Based on the contract that Rodriguez signed in 2007, the Yankees would owe him a $6 million bonus if he hits six more homers and ties Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. But the Yankees are bracing for a battle, believing that mark is now tarnished and they won’t be able to use it for marketing purposes — which was the original purpose of the bonus.
A management attorney familiar with MLB’s collective bargaining agreement disputed that notion, arguing the case would not be based on past performance-enhancing drug use, but the marketability of the milestone. And the Yankees could argue it is a separate part of the contract, not impacted by the suspension.
The union’s thinking is Rodriguez has been punished for his ties to the Biogenesis scandal, which cost him all of the 2014 season and that further penalties would violate the CBA.
The lawsuit Rodriguez filed last January infuriated many members of the union, which had been a strong backer of A-Rod throughout his fight against MLB. But Rodriguez and his lawyers felt the union had not done enough on his behalf.
Now that his suspension has been served, though, he is back in the union.
“He is still a member and that’s how he will be considered,” the source said. “In this case and in any other.”
A source close to Rodriguez told The Post on Monday the slugger expects to be paid for whatever milestones he hits in his comeback, which is set to begin when he arrives in Tampa next month for spring training. His marketing contract with the club also includes $6 million bonuses for tying Babe Ruth (714), Henry Aaron (755), and surpassing Barry Bonds (762) on the all-time home run list.
Rodriguez already has met with new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in an attempt to mend fences, although his attempt to do the same with the Yankees was turned down.