A-Rod quits Yankees

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guaranteed the star $350 million "as a floor."

Boras Told Yankees They Needed $350 Million Offer for Meeting With Alex Rodriguez

My Way - Sports News

Nov 2, 7:39 PM (ET)

By RONALD BLUM
NEW YORK (AP) -The Yankees were told by agent Scott Boras that they could not meet with Alex Rodriguez unless they presented an extension offer that guaranteed the star $350 million "as a floor."

Boras' remarks, first reported Friday by ESPN.com, were made Oct. 25 during a conversation between the agent and general manager Brian Cashman, a baseball official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not made public.

Rodriguez had $81 million remaining over the final three years of his record $252 million, 10-year contract, and the deal contained an additional $10 million escalator. The Yankees were prepared to offer him an extension worth $25 million to $30 million a season for four or five years.

Boras then notified the Yankees on Sunday that the star third baseman was opting out of the contract to become a free agent.

Cashman declined to comment on the conversation, and Boras only would go into general details.

"We've made no offers to anyone and we have received no offers from anyone," Boras said. "I'm not going to respond."

New York said repeatedly that it would not negotiate with Rodriguez if he opted out.

"Brian's made it clear, and I've made it clear," Hank Steinbrenner, son of owner George Steinbrenner, said Friday.

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A-Rod to Toledo Mud Hens?

Spurred by an offhand remark from George Steinbrenner's son, the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens want in on the A-Rod sweepstakes.

The Mud Hens playfully offered the prize free agent a deal Thursday -- a contract proposal that includes a bonus for hitting 75 home runs next year and leading them to 10 straight International League titles.

Rodriguez recently opted out of his $252 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees. That prompted Hank Steinbrenner, son of the Yankees owner, to tell the New York Times: "Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee, or a Toledo Mud Hen?"

The Mud Hens conjured up an offer to find out, said Jason Griffin, a spokesman for the Detroit Tigers' top farm team.

Toledo created a Hall of Fame plaque of Rodriguez wearing a Mud Hens hat and sent a letter to his agent, Scott Boras.

The deal stipulates that Rodriguez will have to compete for a spot with Toledo third basemen Mike Hessman, the league's most valuable player last season.

"Would your client be willing to play a different position?" the letter asked.

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On Baseball

Bidding War for Rodriguez Needs 2 Teams

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/sp...ts&oref=slogin

By MURRAY CHASS
Published: November 7, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla.

Alex Rodriguez is not attending the general managers meetings, so no general managers have been throwing thousand dollar bills or offers at him. But his agent, Scott Boras, isn’t ready to entertain any offers yet.

When Boras has a major client on the market, teams are required to conduct themselves the Boras way, that is, however Boras wants them to.

For example, one of the reasons Boras was said not to want Rodriguez to meet with the Yankees before he opted out of his contract was because he didn’t want the Yankees to make him an offer. When the Yankees persisted, Boras told them the only way they could meet with Rodriguez would be if they put a minimum of $350 million on the table.

To their credit, the Yankees opted to pass.

Since Rodriguez opted out of the contract the night of the final game of the World Series, Boras and a confidant of Rodriguez have tried to promote a meeting with the Yankees.

Boras has sounded indignant that the Yankees have said they would not negotiate with Rodriguez as a free agent, since they are negotiating with the free agents Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada.

The more Boras talks the more he sounds like he thinks he erred by orchestrating the opt-out clause with Rodriguez. Maybe Boras was calling the Yankees’ bluff, and now may see that they are serious about not talking to A-Rod to play third base. Any agent with a player like A-Rod for a client would want the Yankees to drive up the bidding. The question now is if there is anyone else to drive up the bidding? Boras has almost always achieved his goals for his superstar clients, finding some team to bid big. But is there a team among the other 29 prepared to make his and A-Rod’s day?

With the general managers available at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, I identified some possible bidders and asked if they had an interest in Rodriguez.

Tony Reagins of the Angels said: “Obviously we don’t know the expense or what his offer would be, but we have interest. I think we have to look at what the landscape of that situation is. We would definitely consider an opportunity to improve our club.”

Arte Moreno, the Angels’ owner, has said privately that he would not use such a large percentage of the team’s payroll for one player.

“I can’t speak for Arte directly, but we’re open to discussion,” Reagins said. “We want to see what the level of interest is around the league and we’d want to be in the mix. The fact that Alex is available is intriguing.”

•

Are the Angels prepared to pay $30 million to $35 million a year?

“That’s hypothetical,” Reagins said. “We don’t know what the price is going to be. When we get to that point, we’d have to take a strong look at it. There are numbers that are being thrown around, but I don’t know how much merit they have. It could be that. It may not be that.”

Brian Sabean, the Giants’ general manager, isn’t at the meetings. Dick Tidrow, the assistant general manager, answered the question.

“I think we would obviously kick the tires,” he said. “But it’s a long shot.”

Although the Giants could use a superstar to keep AT&T Park filled and help pay off the bank debt, a major league official has said that they couldn’t afford A-Rod. The person did not want to comment publicly about another team’s finances.

Ned Colletti of the Dodgers said: “We’ll have to wait and see. I haven’t heard from Scott. I don’t know if they have interest in being there or not. If they have interest we’ll see where we go. It’ll take a long time to play out, I’m sure.”

Jim Hendry of the Cubs said: “He’s a great, great player. I know he has a longstanding relationship with Lou Piniella. Anybody would love to have him. In our situation we’re very happy with Aramis Ramírez at third. In the overall scheme of things, for the dollars it would take, we have other needs — in the outfield, speed-wise, maybe a little more pitching.

“For that kind of volume of dollars, I don’t see a way that would make any sense because we’re very happy with our guy at third. To commit that much more to one player and not address the other needs we have when we already have an All-Star caliber third baseman is really tough to do.”

Theo Epstein of the Red Sox said, “We’re attempting to sign Mike Lowell and we’re not going to figure out any other alternatives until we see how that process plays out.”

Dave Dombrowski of the Tigers said, “We do not have interest.”

Larry Beinfest of the Marlins said: “We have no plans to pursue A-Rod or engage in any negotiations for him. It makes no sense to have a player who takes up most, if not all, of our on-field payroll.”

Bill Bavasi of the Mariners said, “We’re not a player.” Bavasi added that he continued to believe that the Yankees would be the best fit for Rodriguez. “The Yankees need a third baseman,” he said.

•

Two of the three executives questioned at random — Andy MacPhail of Baltimore and J. P. Ricciardi of Toronto — said they had no interest. The third, Kevin Towers of San Diego, said: “Do I have interest in him? Absolutely. Do I think we’ve got a legitimate chance to sign him? No. I’d have a hard time paying one guy a third of our payroll. We wouldn’t be able to compete.”

Omar Minaya of the Mets didn’t mention Rodriguez yesterday. The day before, he said he would look at Rodriguez like he looks at all free agents. Some people inferred from that comment that the Mets were interested. They are not.

The only way that would probably change was if Fred Wilpon, the Mets’ principal owner, had a dream that the Mets won the World Series next October with A-Rod in their lineup.

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What a goofball

Stay-Rod? Alex Rodriguez Speaks With New York Yankees About Working Out Deal to Return to Team


Nov 14, 3:57 PM (ET)

By RONALD BLUM
NEW YORK (AP) -Alex Rodriguez spoke with the Yankees on Wednesday, telling them he wanted to explore whether he could work out a deal to return to New York.

Members of the Steinbrenner family and top team officials participated in the discussion, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because the club didn't make any announcement.

Rodriguez, who opted out of his contract last month and became a free agent, said he wanted to talk with the Steinbrenner family before he started discussions with other franchises and that he wanted to remain with the Yankees. It was not immediately known whether the discussion took place in person or by telephone. His agent, Scott Boras, did not participate.

The Yankees were approached by a third-party intermediary several days ago who said Rodriguez wanted to speak with the Steinbrenners, and the team at first wondered whether the message was serious. Before Rodriguez terminated his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28, Boras told the Yankees they would have to make a $350 million offer to get a meeting with the third baseman.

By opting out of the contract, Rodriguez forfeited the $72 million he was guaranteed by the Yankees for 2008-10. In turn, the Rangers were relieved of their obligation to pay New York $21.3 million, a subsidy agreed to as part of the 2004 trade that sent A-Rod to the Yankees.

Rodriguez told the Yankees he understood what he would have to do if he wanted to rejoin the team: Make up for the subsidy from Texas that New York lost what he opted out.

Before Rodriguez opted out, the Yankees were prepared to make an initial extension offer of four or five years with an average yearly salary of $25 million to $30 million.

After he became a free agent, many possible suitors said they weren't interested. The Los Angeles Angels were an exception, saying they'd like to speak with Rodriguez.

My Way - Sports News

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They were talking about A Rod yesterday on the radio during my drive home.

They said he is already being paid ~$4 million more than anyone else, how can he think he needs a raise? They thought he'd be lucky to get $1 more than his old contract.