Alex Rodriguez hasn’t even so much as officially redressed in his New York Yankees pinstripes and he’s already attracting side-eye glances from his bosses.
“Like all our players, we have a report weight we are hopeful they hit,” GM Brain Cashman recently told reporters of reports the team is already pressuring Rodriguez to slim down. “He is approaching that. He is not at the spring-training weight that we desire yet. There was progress. We continue to tweak his conditioning program.”
While Cashman declined to say just how much the veteran infielder now weighs, he is listed at 225 on the team’s official roster. The 39-year-old Rodriguez is also rumored to regularly working out with team strength and conditioning coach Matt Krause.
Rodriguez missed all of the 2014 season serving a season-long suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis performance enhancing drug scandal. Rodriguez’s suspension is the longest in MLB history.
“I don’t think it’s safe to just assume Alex can play third base,” Cashman previously told reporters. He added manager Joe Girardi is already pondering the idea of having Rodriguez play some this season at first base where the team also has veteran Mark Teixeira.
In all, Rodriguez has played 20 big-league seasons and is a 14-time All-Star and three-time American League MVP. Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004 and in 2006 signed a 10-year, $275 million extension with the team.
For his career, Rodriguez is a .300 hitter with 654 homers and 1,969 RBIs. In all, Rodriguez has 2,939 hits and has also starred for the Rangers and Mariners. The two-time Gold Glove winner won his first championship with Derek Jeter and the Yankees in 2009.
With Spring Training set to open in around two months, the Yankees currently have the versatile Martin Prado on the roster as a potential third baseman and have been talks with Chase Headley about resigning.
[Photo Credit: Mutro CK]