MLB Rumors: 5 teams that can talk Alex Rodriguez out of retirement
By John Buhler
What if the Adam LaRoche locker room fiasco comes back to haunt the 2016 Chicago White Sox. Not only does the chemistry in the clubhouse on the South Side of Chicago go out of sorts with LaRoche’s controversial retirement, but who will fill that overpaid veteran that can only DH role with the club in 2017?
Enter Rodriguez for a 2017 spectacle the South Side hasn’t seen since the Albert Belle Days or even back to win Bill Veeck owned the Junior Circuit club decades ago. The White Sox will almost certainly play second fiddle to the rival Chicago Cubs of the North Side for the next several years, as the Cubs are looking more like perennial World Series contenders with manager Joe Maddon’s group.
Not only can Rodriguez still hit, but he could provide the White Sox with a bit of notoriety in the nation’s third biggest media market when the North Side rival will harbor so much coverage with the possibly of ending a 108-year World Series drought.
Even at 41-42 years old, Rodriguez will absolutely hit better than the Mendoza Line average LaRoche put up in 2015. If need be for manager Robin Ventura, Rodriguez could theoretically put on a glove and play either the hot corner or straddle first base defensively if Ventura’s White Sox get in a bind one summer afternoon in 2017.
Next: 4. Tampa Bay Rays