On Friday night, 41-year-old veteran Alex Rodriguez will don the pinstripes and play in front of a sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd for the last time in his playing career, as Saturday will mark the beginning of Rodriguez’s next baseball journey as a special adviser to the franchise.
While Rodriguez told the press last Sunday morning that he is “incredibly humbled and flattered” with his new occupation, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman didn’t have the same initial reaction to the job proposal.
“I thought it was f—ing crazy,” Cashman told ESPN’s Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand. “He ain’t taking no coaching job.”
Rodriguez’s new position, which was reportedly proposed to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner via assistant general manager Jean Afterman, came with not only shock, but also skepticism to Cashman, feelings that were also shared and expressed by manager Joe Girardi.
“I was somewhat surprised because I know how much [Alex] loves to play,” Girardi said to ESPN. “[But] if I could see him doing anything that is another passion of his, of sharing the game with young players, that part I’m not surprised.”
Although Rodriguez’s contract doesn’t expire until after the 2017 season, the Yankees agreed to pay all money remaining on his deal, in order to receive Rodriguez’s immediate outright release. But even if Rodriguez is qualified for the advising role, his options aren’t limited to teaching just yet. Rodriguez clearly believes that he can still contribute as a hitter, and the Yankee brass hasn’t told Rodriguez that he can’t look for work elsewhere, which suggests that both parties aren’t fully on board with the latest negotiations.
But much like the late George M. Steinbrenner’s love-hate relationship with former player and adviser Reggie Jackson, perhaps it’s Hal’s turn to befriend Rodriguez in like manner.
“Call it a send-off, off the field, but he is going to be around, he is going to be intimately involved sooner rather than later in shaping the careers of a lot of these young players we are going to be counting on,” Steinbrenner said on The Michael Kay Show. “He’s been great the last two years. He has done everything we could’ve expected from him.”
New York welcomes in the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set this weekend, the same team that Rodriguez faced in his Yankees debut 12 years ago.
