Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Alex Rodriguez Suspension Wouldn't Start Until 2014


"No! I am not here to discuss my hair!"
The baseball players’ association says any suspensions resulting from the sport’s latest drug investigation likely won’t be served until next year if the discipline is challenged before an arbitrator.
That quote comes from an article by the Associated Press, in which Union head Michael Weiner addressed the possibility of suspensions being passed down onto players like Alex Rodriguez due to alleged involvement with Biogenesis, a former medical facility in Florida said to have provided HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs to baseball players.

While a 150 game suspension for ARod has been talked about, which could lead to many things up to and including him retiring from MLB, something about that AP article intrigued me. That being, should ARod be suspended for a long period of time, the Yankees could make out really well.

Let's say MLB announces that Alex has been suspended for 150 games, but the suspension doesn't start until next season. That means the Yankees could have ARod shore things up at 3B in about a week (when his 20-day rehab period ends), and at the same time save $27.5 million* towards the payroll next season since a player does not get paid when serving a suspension.

*I said "$27.5 million" as that is the average annual value (AAV) of Rodriguez's contract, and the Luxury Tax goes by AAV instead of what a player actually makes... which in ARod's case is $28 million in 2014.

The trade market for third basemen isn't that good, especially if Philadelphia stays unwilling to deal away Michael Young. Therefore, a returning Alex Rodriguez could be the Yankees best bet at the hot corner. Add in ARod and his salary not counting for the Yankees in 2014, and we would have ourselves a win-win situation.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)