A-Rod wanted $350 M from Yanks

[JetsPrisoner12]

Sources: Yankees more than $100M short of entertaining A-Rod

On ESPN - I don't know how to link. Guess he wasn't interested in a home town discount!

[Tyler Durden]

Originally Posted by JetsPrisoner12

Sources: Yankees more than $100M short of entertaining A-Rod

On ESPN - I don't know how to link. Guess he wasn't interested in a home town discount!

He was offered a record setting contract.... is that really a discount?

[LockeJET]

Before Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the Yankees earlier this week, the team was told that it would not be able to meet with the third baseman unless it presented an offer of at least $350 million, sources say.


The Yankees had hoped to meet with Rodriguez this week, and would have presented him with an extension offer close to five years and $150 million, to begin at the conclusion of his 2008-2010 contract, through which he would have earned $81 million. Through the Yankees' proposal, then, Rodriguez would have made about $230 million over eight years, and during the last five years of the contract, sources say, he would have earned the highest annual salary in Major League Baseball history.

But team executives were told, sources say, that in order to arrange a meeting with Rodriguez, they would have to be prepared to make an extension offer that would take the third baseman's deal up to a total value of $350 million. That means that the offer the Yankees intended to propose would have been more than $100 million short.

Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, sent the documentation of Rodriguez's intention to opt out of the contract to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman during Game 4 of the World Series, Cashman has said, and the GM did not speak with Boras until after news of the decision was published on SI.com.

The timing of how this played out, and the fact that Rodriguez did not meet with the Yankees to hear their offer before making his decision, has led some baseball officials to surmise that a deal with another team may already be in the works. In an interview with ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick on Thursday, Boras said, "We have had no economic discussions regarding Alex Rodriguez with any major-league team."



The Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Giants and Marlins are among the teams which have not publicly ruled out pursuing Rodriguez. Sources say it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will seriously entertain the possibility.

[SMC]

Originally Posted by LockeJET

The Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Giants and Marlins are among the teams which have not publicly ruled out pursuing Rodriguez. Sources say it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will seriously entertain the possibility.

That cracks me up. ARod should be the most sought after FA available, but his ridiculous price tag and bad press have left him with teams that "have not publicly ruled out pursuing" him.

Just imagine if Tom Brady was an unrestricted free agent now. Every team except the Colts would be after him. It's the opposite for ARod.

I also love how the Marlins and their $15 million payroll are involved. They're going to sign 1 player who makes more money than their entire roster.

If you really think about it, it may end up with Omar having to bail Boras out and give him a big deal, but I don't think the Mets would go to $300 million.

[Mikey Z 6]

baseball needs a salary cap.. thats rediculous

[JetsFan2012]

Originally Posted by SMC

That cracks me up. ARod should be the most sought after FA available, but his ridiculous price tag and bad press have left him with teams that "have not publicly ruled out pursuing" him.

Just imagine if Tom Brady was an unrestricted free agent now. Every team except the Colts would be after him. It's the opposite for ARod.

I also love how the Marlins and their $15 million payroll are involved. They're going to sign 1 player who makes more money than their entire roster.

If you really think about it, it may end up with Omar having to bail Boras out and give him a big deal, but I don't think the Mets would go to $300 million.

How great would it be if Boras refused to budge on his demands and no one signed A-Rod. I would laugh and laugh.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by SMC

That cracks me up. ARod should be the most sought after FA available, but his ridiculous price tag and bad press have left him with teams that "have not publicly ruled out pursuing" him.

Just imagine if Tom Brady was an unrestricted free agent now. Every team except the Colts would be after him. It's the opposite for ARod.

I also love how the Marlins and their $15 million payroll are involved. They're going to sign 1 player who makes more money than their entire roster.

If you really think about it, it may end up with Omar having to bail Boras out and give him a big deal, but I don't think the Mets would go to $300 million.

One of the ESPN commentators (Stark maybe?) was saying that the fallback team was probably (in his mind) the Tigers.

Still, I can't imagine A-Rod pocketing more money from another team than he would have with the Yankees. But, whatever Boras is, he ain't dumb. He must feel that he has some type of fallback deal that made opting out an option. Seemed like a no-brainer to me. Unless, of course, A-Rod HATED playing in NY.

[AJGunns]

Signing Arod is a great business decision but not a great baseball decision.

[JetsPrisoner12]

Originally Posted by pauliec

How great would it be if Boras refused to budge on his demands and no one signed A-Rod. I would laugh and laugh.

So would I but that's not going to happen. I'm really hoping no team would pay this guy $30-$35M for ten years. In reality I think going beyond 6 years at $25M is silly. But you never know with these guys.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Originally Posted by JetsPrisoner12

So would I but that's not going to happen. I'm really hoping no team would pay this guy $30-$35M for ten years. In reality I think going beyond 6 years at $25M is silly. But you never know with these guys.

10 years would never happen. No team is that financially irresponsible. 30-35 million for about a 5 or 6 year deal has a real shot at happening.

[JetPotato]

HAHAHA THE MARLINS.

Yes, a team with no fans, potentially moving to Vegas and a $15M payroll is going to give a guy $35M per. To put that in perspective, the guy would then be 70% of the entire team payroll.

Good luck.

[AJGunns]

Originally Posted by Guido Monzino

HAHAHA THE MARLINS.

Yes, a team with no fans, potentially moving to Vegas and a $15M payroll is going to give a guy $35M per. To put that in perspective, the guy would then be 70% of the entire team payroll.

Good luck.

The Marlins will offer a deal that includes ownership when his contract is up, if that is allowed by the league.

[AJGunns]

If I am the Marlins owner, I offer AROD 15 years at 10 million a year and a 25% stake of the team on year 16.

It may sound crazy but it will give the team instant credibility and the cards for a new stadium.

THE HOUSE THAT AROD BUILT! If you build it, they will come.

[Bay Ridge Jet]

Originally Posted by Mikey Z 6

baseball needs a salary cap.. thats rediculous

It needs a salary floor more than it needs a cap.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Originally Posted by AJGunns

The Marlins will offer a deal that includes ownership when his contract is up, if that is allowed by the league.

Isn't a player owning a team against the rules? It has to be, that'd be such a conflict of interest.

[AJGunns]

Originally Posted by Jets Voice of Reason

Isn't a player owning a team against the rules? It has to be, that'd be such a conflict of interest.

It is, but he wouldn't own the team until he retired.

[TheFranchise]

F ARod.

[Tyler Durden]

Originally Posted by AJGunns

It is, but he wouldn't own the team until he retired.

Yeah thats 100% against the rules, can't be even mentioned for after the contract. If MLB got wind of that that team would be automatically removed from contention to sign the player.

[JeffWeaverFan]

Originally Posted by AJGunns

Signing Arod is a great business decision but not a great baseball decision.

Great business decision? I completely disagree. How is it a great business decisions?

[JeffWeaverFan]

Originally Posted by pauliec

How great would it be if Boras refused to budge on his demands and no one signed A-Rod. I would laugh and laugh.

Rob Neyer seems to think there is a chance (albeit, a very, very small one) that that could happen.

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog...name=Neyer_Rob

Tyler Kepner's got a great blog about all things Yankees, including the following items:

The idea of Joe Torre as the manager of the Dodgers and Don Mattingly as the hitting coach makes too much sense not to happen. Besides all the baseball reasons, there are cosmic forces at play: Torre grew up in Brooklyn, and Mattingly's son, Preston, plays for a Dodgers' farm team. …

If I had A-Rod's phone number, I would ask him why he did not return calls from Hank and Hal Steinbrenner before he decided to opt out. In what other line of work does the highest-paid person in an industry refuse the calls of the people who pay his salary, especially when they are calling to offer him even more?

Why did the news about Rodriguez leak during Game 4 of the World Series? There's been a great deal of criticism, and it's merited. But why was the news leaked? There are three possibilities:

1. Somebody was settling a personal score. It might have been A-Rod, it might have been Scott Boras, it might have been somebody with the Yankees, it might even have been Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman, who broke the story on SI.com.

2. Boras got the news out at the exact time of his choosing, because somehow he gained some leverage in future negotiations with A-Rod's prospective suitors.

3. Somebody simply made a mistake. Heyman broke the story Sunday night at 10:14 p.m. ET, after which it quickly spread. Last night, Scott Boras apologized for the timing in a statement: "The unfortunate result was not my intent but is solely my fault. I could have handled this situation better, and for that I am truly sorry."

Call me naive, but I'm inclined to believe it's mostly No. 3, with maybe a little bit of No. 1 mixed in. Heyman's not talking about his source, and Boras hasn't said anything, either. But it seems likely that Heyman's source was either Boras's office or somebody associated with the Yankees. I suspect that someday we'll find out who leaked. Of course, by then we probably won't care.

Leaving aside the controversy, one might still wonder why now?. Rodriguez had 10 days after the conclusion of the World Series to announce his decision. Apparently the plan was to make the announcement Monday, with nine days to spare. So why the rush? A friend writes:

Maybe I missed it, but the coverage of A-Rod has not stated an obvious possible reason for opting out: He simply doesn't want to play for the Yankees. By opting out even before a concrete offer is made, he's not tempted by them, and, perhaps more importantly, Boras doesn't have to set a precedent by taking a second-best deal.

This makes sense to me. A lot of sense. All my analysis has been predicated on the notion that Rodriguez's No. 1 priority is compensation. But perhaps instead his No. 1 priority is playing for someone, anyone, but the Yankees.

And finally, let me pose this question: What is the percentage chance that next spring Rodriguez will be playing for … nobody? It's long been assumed that the bidding for his services would start at $30 million per season. What if no team is willing to go higher than $25 million? Or $27 million? Would he play for that? I don't think that he would.

I think at least one team will offer more than $30 million per season. I think he'll be playing next April. But the chance that he's not? I think it's higher than zero.