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Yankees believe they can avoid paying Alex Rodriguez’s bonuses

By Stanford Crissey

Feb 25, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (13) walks out of the batting cage during afternoon workouts at New York Yankee Minor League Complex. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (13) walks out of the batting cage during afternoon workouts at New York Yankee Minor League Complex. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Yankees don’t believe they will be required to pay A-Rod’s milestone bonus money

Alex Rodriguez may be back on the team, but the contentious saga between the New York Yankees and A-Rod shows no sign of coming to a stop.

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Yankees will try to avoid paying Rodriguez the bonuses he is owed in his contract for passing certain milestones. According to Heyman, the team believes they have a “very good chance” of avoiding payment.

The 10-year, $275 million deal the slugger signed in 2007 calls for $6 million bonuses each time Rodriguez passes a major home run milestone, including Willie Mays’ 660 homers, Babe Ruth’s 714, Hank Aaron’s 755 and Barry Bonds’ 762.

Heading into 2015 A-Rod has hit 654 career home runs.

Why do the Yankees believe they can avoid this payment? It appears that the contract was written in a way to get around MLB bans on home run and RBI milestone bonuses, so it reads that the Yankees must designate a milestone as such in order for a bonus to be received. The team believes it can use his steroid use as sufficient grounds to deny the bonuses as real milestones.

The clause in question reads as follows: “The Yankees are under no obligation to exercise its right to designate a historical accomplishment as a milestone provided that its decision is made in good faith and in accordance with the intent of the parties in the covenant.”

Obviously A-Rod’s camp wouldn’t take this lying down, and the clause says he may file a grievance if the Yankees deny the bonus. This, says Heyman, is where things “could really get contentious.”

You don’t say.

If this is the point the Yankees have reached with Rodriguez, why not just release him? They would still have to pay his salary, but that’s happening no matter what. This way, they would avoid not only the bonuses, but the headaches that come with having A-Rod on your team, and the contentious relationship between A-Rod and the Yankees’ front office.

That is, unless they believe he has something tangible to offer as a hitter, but at 41 and coming off a missed year, that would seem unlikely. Maybe it’s just me, but a release seems preferable to holding a contentious grievance with a member of your baseball team. The Yankees should put an end to this never-ending saga.

It’s either that or go back and un-sign the original contract. It may have seemed like a good idea, but when has signing a 33-year-old to a ten-year deal ever been a good idea? They say hindsight is 20/20, but it feels like normal sight should have caught that one.

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