The New York Yankees may be beginning to slowly remove Alex Rodriguez from regular play.
The New York Yankees are in an odd period in franchise history. The team became sellers after trading Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs on Monday, and are currently 7.5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
A Wild Card berth is still in play, but the playoff push may not involve one of the game’s all-time greats.
Alex Rodriguez is under contract with the Yankees through the 2017 season, but he is already seeing his playing time go down in 2016. The most glaring sign of this was when he was benched Monday, even though the Yankees were facing a left-handed pitcher. Carlos Beltran got the start at DH instead.
This was a surprise, but Beltran is leading the Yankees in every major batting statistic, while Rodriguez is hitting .206 on the season with only three hits in his last 10 games. Giving Beltran a chance against a lefty could have been done to see how he would do, while also giving Rodriguez more time to figure out what is going on at the plate before putting him on the field to fail.
An article on ESPN.com explains how Rodriguez is indeed working hard to correct the issue:
"Rodriguez sought out the Yankees’ sabermatricians to seek counsel on a change he had made in his swing. The team’s advanced analytics department , A-Rod said, pointed out some peripheral numbers that made him feel better; he is striking out less and his exit velocity is improving."
This may not do much to quell the anger of fans who see Rodriguez as a waste of money this year and next, but at least he is doing more than just sitting and collecting a paycheck.
Monday’s benching is not too big of a deal right now, but may be seen as the beginning of the end if he continues to be benched in favor of Beltran when facing lefties.
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With the team still in contention for a playoff berth, and with Beltran as the team’s best hitter, it wouldn’t make sense to keep him on the bench in favor of a struggling Rodriguez. Considering he is still on the team through next season, it seems premature to write him off and say his career is over, but the media will surely be covering his playing time as the year progresses.