The New York Yankees are benefiting from Alex Rodriguez' 660th home run but don't believe he deserves any special benefit for his feat.
USA TODAY Sports reported Saturday that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flatly denied that the club owes Rodriguez any money for his 660th home run that tied Willie Mays for fourth place on Major League Baseball's all-time home runs list.
The Yankees and A-Rod signed a marketing agreement in 2007 that allows Rodriguez to earn $30 million in bonuses if he reaches five home run milestones, beginning with $6 million for tying Mays' 660 homers. He was also to receive $6 million bonuses for tying Babe Ruth's 714 home runs, Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, Barry Bonds' 762 home runs and then for hitting a 763rd long ball.
Cashman argued that the wording of the contract gives the Yankees the option of determining whether A-Rod's homers are indeed milestones.
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"It's the sole discretion of the New York Yankees to determine whether each of these milestones is commercially marketable as the home-run chase,'' according to the contract, USA TODAY Sports reported. "The Yankees have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether it's a commercially marketable milestone.''
"We have the right,'' Cashman said, "not the obligation to do something. And that's it. It's not you do this, you get that. It's completely different."
The Yankees are arguing that A-Rod's yearlong ban last year due to steroids makes it impossible for them to market his feats, which eliminates the bonuses.
The Yankees have not marketed his home run, even refusing to put it on their list of milestone notes distributed to the media .
"The great thing about contracts, if there are any disputes,'' Cashman said, "there's a system in place to determine if there is some misunderstanding. I don't think there's any misunderstanding.
"I think it's pretty clear. There's nothing to address. He's got a copy (of the contract), too.''
The Yankees signed A-Rod to a 10-year, $275 million contract in 2007. After his suspension in 2014, the Yankees reportedly were trying to find out ways to get out of paying the remainder of his contract - in excess of $100 million.
But just as the Yankees are stuck with him, now it appears they want him to feel stuck with them.
He is having a surprising year by all accounts, with six home runs and 14 runs batted in for the Yankees who are in first place early in the American League East race.
And even if the Yankees aren't printing 660 home run T-shirts in honor of A-Rod, they are getting lots of publicity from his home run and his baseball rebirth. So it's not as if the Yankees aren't benefiting.
Rodriguez did not make himself available for comment after the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, but the MLB Players Union is "prepared to intervene on Alex's behalf, spokesman Greg Bouris said, according to USA TODAY Sports.
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