New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was handed a 162-game ban from arbitrator Fredric Horowitz over the weekend for his connection to the Biogenesis clinic and performance enhancing drugs, but the embattled player still insists that he will attend to spring training next month and the Yankees may opt to relegate him to the team's minor league facility if he does indeed show up.
According to ESPN, team officials said that they may be prepared to relegate A-Rod to the minor league facility if he shows up but no decision on their actions will be made until the team talks to the commissioner's office about the loophole in the suspension rules.
"These are uncharted waters," one official told ESPN.
Rodriguez was suspended for violating the MLB's Joint Drug Agreement for his connection to Anthony Bosch and the now-defunct Florida-based Biogenesis clinic in August for 211-games but the slugger continued to play until his appeal could be heard by an arbitrator. It was ruled Saturday that A-Rod will miss the entire 2014 season, casting doubt on his future in baseball.
Still, Rodriguez was insistent that he will show up to Tampa, Fla. for Yankees spring training next month.
"As of now, Alex is planning on attending spring training," his spokesman, Ron Berkowitz, said, according to ESPN.
The report indicates that Berkowitz wouldn't specify if Rodriguez would still go to spring training if the Yankees opt to put him on the minor league side. Rodriguez can technically be at the facility since his punishment covers the regular-season and postseason, but not the preseason.
Since A-Rod isn't on the 40-man roster for the Yankees, the team has the option to send him to workout with the minor leaguers rather than the big league ball club, ESPN reports.
The report indicates that though the Yankees can cut the third baseman, who is owed $61 million between 2015-17, they haven't been talking about the idea of doing so. ABC News reports that A-Rod's lawyer Joe Tacopina said their side plans to seek an injunction in federal court to appeal Horowitz's decision and have it overturned.
A-Rod believes that he should be able to attend spring training so that he can be in game-shape in case the federal court overturns the ruling on his suspension.
Rodriguez is a career .299 hitter with 654 homers and 1,969 RBIs through a 20-year career. It remains to be seen if he ever sees another inning of play in the majors.
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