The New York Yankees had a chance to get rid of Alex Rodriguez during last year's offseason. No, it wasn't the Boston Red Sox or the Miami Marlins chasing after Rodriguez, it was a team willing to take on the all the drama and cash away from New York and they were on the other side of the world, in Fukuoka, Japan.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks reached out to the Yankees after the conclusion of the 2012 season. They noticed how Rodriguez had scuffled in the playoffs and had practically become a useless, struggling player in the Yankees' lineup. New York probably wanted to keep their true hero, Raul Ibanez, but with their payroll stacked and the franchise changing gears financially, Rodriguez's contract crippled the Yankees' opportunities to resign some of their useful veterans.
The Hawks reached out to the Yankees. That could have been $114 million off the table. $114 million the Yankees could have used to sign viable free agents and stuff some players on the left side of their infield since Derek Jeter was set to miss time at the beginning of the season due to his broken ankle. However, ownership decided to ignore the Hawks' interest because, as New York Times' Ken Belson points out, "the Yankees knew that Rodriguez needed extensive hip surgery... and there was no chance that Rodriguez would agree to the transfer at this point in his career."
If the Hawks found out Rodriguez's 2013 season was doomed from the start, the Yankees figured it would be pointless in entertaining these thoughts.
Aside from having to worry about Rodriguez's hip, now the Yankees are seeing their $275 million investment face a possible 100-game suspension as Tony Bosch of the Biogenesis clinic, is set to come clean with MLB about what he provided to players connected with the lab in Florida. The Yankees will have to absorb whatever consequences come due to Rodriguez's actions, but it seems like the franchise is slowly distancing itself from A-Rod.
While the Yankees are currently worrying about their financial flexibility, for the Hawks, financial flexibility exists. They are owned by a top technological company in the country and they have money to burn. The Yankees want their payroll to decrease, something the franchise had not practiced since former owner, George Steinbrenner took over the team in the 1970's.
For now, the Yankees hope Rodriguez can continue to recover from his hip injury. In turn, if they can get some production out of him, they hope an American team finds Rodriguez useful in their lineup as the Yanks will look to get rid of this troubling, aging star that has only helped them win one championship since his acquisition back in 2003.
