The ink on Alex Rodriguez’ Yankees farewell isn’t even dry yet and there’s talk of him playing elsewhere. This has happened across sports prior (how often did we hear of Brett Favre saying he was retiring/not retiring/retiring?), but the effects are largely the same: when your body tells you it’s time, it’s time to hang it up.
Fans, and apparently the front office of the Miami Marlins, will tell you otherwise. With slugger Giancarlo Stanton severely straining his groin, which will almost assuredly keep him out for the rest of the season, the Marlins are in need of a bat.
Going after a bat makes all the sense in the world. Going after A-Rod, does not, with marketing the possible exception.
I’m all for filling holes. The Marlins using Alex Rodriguez makes little sense for that purpose.
For one, the Marlins play in the National League. That means using A-Rod in your roster means using A-Rod in the field; most likely at first base. At 41, and two hip replacements later, regardless of whether first base requiring smallish need for range, Rodriguez becomes a liability. Yes, he did some work at first, but played exactly zero games at the position. He could come off the bench, but is this really any sort of substation even remotely close to what the Marlins need?
To add, it’s not like A-Rod was tearing it up in the DH role with the Yankees this season. In 65 games and 243 plate appearances he hit .200, had a paltry 9 home runs and 31 RBIs. Couple that with a .247 on base percentage, and .351 OPS.
As mentioned prior, there is the marketing aspect. Rodriguez is four home runs from 700, a holy grail milestone that has only been reached by Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron. Owner Jeffrey Loria would get a bump at the gate and on television, but if manager Don Mattingly is looking to get wins, not marketing, how does A-Rod truly factor into that.
The only logic for the Marlins would be that well-worn theory that a change in zip codes will rekindle the fire that was present in Rodriguez last season after sitting out all of 2014 due to his PED suspension. That in being close to home and out from under the New York media glare, some semblance of the Alex Rodriquez of old will surface. It’s a heck of a gamble for a team that currently just 0.5 games out of the NL Wild Card, and sit 8.5 games behind the Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East.
Finally, there’s this: in 2016, the Marlins had a better winning percentage when Stanton was out of the lineup than when he was in. You need to plug holes, but does the media glare that would come with Alex Rodriguez really be worth it for a team that really doesn’t need him?
