Miami Marlins: Could they sign Alex Rodriguez?
By Jason Evans
With the news that Friday will be Alex Rodriguez‘s last game as a New York Yankee, could the Miami Marlins jump in and sign him?
In a move that didn’t really come as a surprise, Alex Rodriguez will not be playing for the Yankees anymore after Friday. The Yankees will release him after Friday’s game and he will collect his money. Rodriguez will then become a special adviser to the club. Of course, Rodriguez can do anything he wants now.
A-Rod won't rule out trying to play for another team.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 7, 2016
With that in mind, could the Miami Marlins be that team to jump in and sign him? He’s not a perfect fit on an NL team. He’s really only a DH at this point and can’t really play the field.
But here’s the thing, I can see it for a few reasons.
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First of all, A-Rod is from Miami. He still lives there and is active in the community there.
Miami owner Jeffrey Lauria looks up the Steinbrenner family in many ways. He also loves making money as much as he can. Bringing the native son back to the club as the team marches closer to the playoffs would be huge box office in a place where you could do anything and everything.
There’s also Rodriguez’s relationship with Barry Bonds. Before last season, Rodriguez trained with Bonds, who is now the Marlins hitting coach. They are also friends. Would it shock anyone if Bonds reaches out to Rodriguez after Friday night? There was even talk about A-Rod eventually managing the Marlins in the off-season.
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It just makes too much sense for this not to happen. It’s the return of a superstar, going to a team in a pennant race in his hometown. The Marlins have Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez, but A-Rod could make the team nationally relevant.