Buzz: Five-Year Extension for Alex Rodriguez
In a report for the Daily News, citing ‘industry sources,’ Mark Feinsand and 
Bill Madden write that the Yankees intend to offer Alex Rodriguez a five-year contract extension worth roughly $140 million.
Buster Olney reported a similar contract offer from the Yankees to Rodriguez yesterday at ESPN.com.
According to multiple reports, Rodriguez, 32, can opt out of his current contract and become a free agent. He has three years and a potential $91 million left on his current deal, of which $21 million will be paid by his former team, the Texas Rangers.
…the early buzz from baseball, which had been bubbling for months, suggested that, if a-rod hits the open market, boras will seek 10–year, $300 million for his client…so, considering his current contract, plus the extension offer, he’d go in to next season with the Yankees playing with a eight-year, $236 million deal…the question will be: does a-rod want to break Barry Bond’s record under the spotlight and pressure of new york, with all the good and bad that it offers, or does he want to do it some place else, where it may be easier…
However, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has repeatedly told reporters that, if Rodriguez becomes a free agent, he will pass on trying to re-sign him.
Meanwhile, also in the Daily News, Bill Price, using tired rhetoric, overt assumption and lots of sarcasm, explains why the Mets ‘need’ to sign Rodriguez, writing…
“They need a jolt (one bigger than hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo can provide). Their fans need a morale boost. Their roster needs a bona-fide, everyday superstar…Even at a mere $35 million a year for 10 years, it makes perfect sense, both from a business and baseball standpoint.”
…fine, but, while i am not totally against the Mets signing rodriguez for the sake of signing rodriguez, i just don’t see how it solves their biggest problem, which is pitching…in a perfect world, they sign rodriguez and also solve their pitching issues, but i am not exactly sure how that happens yet…
…also, yes, rodriguez is a great player, but he’s one player…and we’ve been over this before, with him in fact…a team doesn’t need an a-rod to win a world series…it helps, and it certainly doesn’t hurt, but he has never been the missing link, just ask the Rangers, Mariners and Yankees (who couldn’t get to a world series with him), and ask the D’Backs, Rockies and Indians, who got further in the playoffs than the Yankees, who had a-rod and a $150 million payroll to go with him…
…if the Mets are going to get bogged down in lengthy negotiations this winter, and spend a big chunk of change, i hope it’s for a young, top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, not a bat, unless that’s their only option, in which case i’d welcome a-rod in a second…
