A-Rod appears to have fallen out of favor with the New York Yankees, first with his benching in the playoffs and now with a statement from the team’s general manager that the aging player is no longer a superstar.
As the New York Daily News reported , Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman said that the team is unlikely the be able to trade Alex Rodriguez and his five year, $114 million contract.
“If anybody wants to call me on anything, I will listen to anything about any player,” Cashman said of A-Rod, who can veto any trade from the Yankees.
Cashman then added, “If anyone wastes their time thinking Alex Rodriguez is not going to be with us in spring training, they’d be wrong.”
Cashman’s harsh assessment of A-Rod continued.
“Is he still a superstar? No,” the team’s general manager said. “Is he still an above-average player at his position? Yes. He was this year and we expect him to be one moving forward.”
A-Rod is fifth all time in baseball with 647 home runs, but has fallen onto hard times lately. He missed more than a month of the 2012 regular season with a broken hand had a career-low 57 RBIs this year along with 18 home runs.
Worst of all, A-Rod found himself on the bench in the playoffs as the Yankees were swept by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.
A-Rod then added to the team’s embarrassment by spending his time during the ALCS flirting with women sitting above the dugout, sending them his phone number via a signed baseball, The New York Pos t noted.
