Where Could Alex Rodriguez Go Play?

With ARod’s release on Friday he will go through waivers and become a free agent. On Sunday he said he was walking away from the game but gave the impression that he may only be done playing in pinstripes but not done with the game as a whole. While Alex has every right to try and continue to play, he should not do it. Any team that signs him will only be doing so as a publicity stunt and not as a way to compete. Retiring 4 home runs short of 700 is a kick in the teeth but only if he didn’t have the tarnished record he already does. Without the pair of PED admissions that Alex already has, I would say go for it, but because of that reason Alex should never put on another uniform as a player.

Not only would Alex me making a joke of himself, he would also be spitting in Hal Steinbrenner’s face. The Yankees could have just released Alex without a press conference but they gave him the opportunity to play at least one more game and have a mini farewell tour. On top of that there are more opportunities to a player who retires a Yankee and goes out with grace, than one that spites the team by suiting up again. A spot in monument park and at Old Timers Day, disappears once Alex puts on another uniform.

In the event that he does make a terrible decision and decide to play again, there are only a few places he could realistically land. Every crappy team in the league could offer at-bats but let’s just assume that Alex won’t leave the East Coast, where his daughters are, and isn’t going to go somewhere there he has no ties.

• Seattle: The Mariners are only on this list because it’s where Alex started his career. There has been talk about Alex going full circle in his career and making up with the Mariners for leaving them for Texas, but this isn’t likely. On top of being as geographically far as possible from his daughters, it doesn’t make sense for the Mariners. Seattle is in the Wild Card race and has a handful of guys that could use the at-bats in the DH spot. Alex can’t play the field and with Adam Lind and Nelson Cruz in the lineup the DH spot is locked down. Add in that this weekend the team retired Ken Griffey Jr’s number and it makes no sense to follow up honoring their biggest star by bringing back a shell of the one that got away.
• Tampa: They stink and they could use the ticket sales. Alex has a home in Tampa and is scheduled to be there next year for his new instructor position so it wouldn’t be a huge change in plans to suit up and chase 700 in The Trop. With the DH from being in the AL and a very young team, Alex could be a great fit to get a couple of at-bats a week while also mentoring. It would be the fit that makes the most sense from a standpoint of playing time for Alex and salary/ticket sales for The Rays. The only thing stopping this from actually happening is an official offer and Alex asking himself how badly he wants to follow in Jose Canseco’s footsteps as a broken down PED user looking to hold on by becoming a sideshow.

• Miami: This is the most rumored place for Alex to land. He was raised in Miami, lives there in the off-season and is close friends with the biggest scumbag in baseball Jeffery Loria. If Alex’s contract was simply coming to an end and he wanted one more year this move would make the most sense in the world. However, with the way things are ending in New York this could be the worst move that Alex could make. It is so predictable that of a move, it would show the world that the humble and friendly ARod we’ve seen the last two season was all a sham and he is the egomaniac we saw through the first 20 years of his career. Mix in that The Marlins are in the hunt for a playoff spot and have Ichiro already coming off the bench and you can see it doesn’t make sense for the team either. At least not in 2016. The other thought is that Alex could sign for next season but with the team having a $2mil option on Ichiro, who is batting .316, it may sell a few more tickets to pick up ARod instead, but will further cement Loria as an owner not looking out for the team’s best interests and let us know that Alex in the long run just doesn’t get it.

These are the three teams that I could see having any realistic shot at signing Alex, if he would entertain the idea of continuing his career. The Red Sox and Mets have been thrown out there as possible landing spots, just to spite the Yankees, but he isn’t a realistic fit and MLB teams don’t sing players to spite the competition.

Over the next week rumors will run rampant about where and if ARod is going to try and continue to play, but for the good of his legacy and the good of baseball, I hope none of it comes true. The only uniform we should ever see Alex Rodriguez in ever again is a Yankee uniform at Spring Training or Old Timers Day.