The arbitrator in the Alex Rodriguez case has handed down his decision.
Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 2014 regular season and postseason. Per Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports:
Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014 season and postseason, arbitrator determines.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 11, 2014
In many ways MLB’s case wasn’t that strong when they initially suspended him for 211 games. As such, to still get a full season seems to be a win for them, as multiple writers have noted in their reactions to the news.
162 games? Probably has to be considered a win for MLB.
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) January 11, 2014
162 games for ARod is a huge win for MLB.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) January 11, 2014
While MLB celebrates loudly, it might be the New York Yankees who are celebrating a bit more quietly. They will not be saddled with A-Rod’s contract or his drama as they try to get back on track in 2014.
Yankees save ~$27M on luxury tax hit, or the same amount the Angels will have paid Vernon Wells to play for other teams in 2013-2014
— jasoncollette (@jasoncollette) January 11, 2014
As for A-Rod, his camp has issued the following statement:
A-Rod statement says the decision comes as no surprise, “as the deck has been stacked against me from day one.”
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 11, 2014
For a time, it actually looked like A-Rod might have a case that the deck was stacked against him unfairly. But with this decision, those cries will be nothing more than whimpers. An appeal in a courtroom is still a remedy available to A-Rod if he wants to pursue it, but his odds of the arbitrator being overruled there are not good.
For now, it looks like A-Rod will finally have to go away, at least for one year.
