Alex Rodriguez will play rehab games in Trenton Friday
With Alex Rodriguez’s fate yet to be decided by Major League Baseball, the Yankees third baseman is headed to Trenton.
The Yankees announced Thursday that Rodriguez will play rehab games with the Double-A Trenton Thunder Friday night and Saturday night. Whether Rodriguez actually will play in those games is in question, though – as MLB is on the verge of announcing disciplinary action in the Biogenesis probe.
It remains uncertain whether Rodriguez will make a deal with MLB or appeal expected severe punishment.
Alex Rodriguez.
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could avert a potential lifetime ban from Major League Baseball if he accepts a suspension that would prohibit him from playing until 2015, one baseball official with knowledge of the investigation told USA TODAY Sports.
The official was unauthorized to speak publicly about the situation since the talks are private.
It remains to be seen whether Rodriguez and his team of attorneys will soften their stance of no negotiations and accept a ban that would result in a 217-game penalty (if implemented Friday) and a loss of 34.5 million dollars in salary. Rodriguez would still be due $61 million in from 2015-2017, as well as a possible $30 million in bonuses — if he averts a lifetime suspension.
If Rodriguez does not agree to a lengthy suspension without appealing, one source said, MLB has threatened to suspend him for life, forcing him to fight the league through arbitration. The sources did not say what length of suspension either side would accept, only that the two camps “aren’t anywhere close” – according to one.
Rodriguez’s representatives repeatedly have said he will fight any suspension.
Sources said the Yankees have not been part of conversations, and that MLB apparently has taken the position that Rodriguez’s discipline has nothing to do with his contract with the club.
Meanwhile, the Yankees announced Thursday that Rodriguez will join the Double-A Trenton Thunder on Friday to play in a rehabilitation assignment game. If he is not suspended and prevented from playing pending an appeal, A-Rod could rejoin the Yankees as early as Sunday in San Diego or in Chicago on Monday.
Whatever punishment MLB issues should be announced by Sunday – however. If Rodriguez does not agree to a suspension, any MLB discipline likely would include a ban from playing while he appeals, a move Rodriguez and the players’ association are expected to fight.