Interesting article on Alex Rodriguez' whereabouts in 2008 in the New York Sun this morning.
The first team he eliminates is the obvious one, the NY Yankees. Based on the following two assumptions, A-Rod's bags are packed: 1) He will opt out of his contract. Not much doubt about this unless he cans Scott Boras, which is not bloody likely. Boras' clients test the market all the time, every time. 2) The Yankees will not negotiate with A-Rod should he opt out. Either this assumption is true or Brian Cashman, who has made the statement more times than Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab, will have a massive load of egg on his face.
Next we knock out the teams that can't afford him. That leaves:
The Cubs: "The Chicago Cubs, for instance, could theoretically afford Rodriguez, but they have no significant money coming off their $100 million payroll this year, while they're locked into raises for all of their best players. They would have to commit to the second-highest payroll in baseball to bring Rodriguez to Wrigleyville, and nothing at all suggests that's going to happen. "
The Angels: "the Los Angeles Angels seem like a good fit, but the only big salary coming off their books after this year is Bartolo Colon's; signing Rodriguez would raise their payroll by almost a third and make them nearly as big a spender as the Boston Red Sox. Unless owner Arte Moreno finds an oil well under home plate, this seems unlikely. It's one thing to be rich, and another thing to have money available"
The NY Mets: With David Wright and Jose Reyes, the Mets don't have a place for A-Rod to play.
LA Dodgers: "They're as rich as any team outside the American League East, they have real money to throw around, and they have a productive farm system that will allow them to replace their free agents from within. Simply letting veterans Randy Wolf, Jeff Kent, and Luis Gonzalez go this fall would free up enough to pay Rodriguez, and after next year, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra, and Derek Lowe will be off their books, freeing up another $30 million."
Red Sox: "Boston Red Sox, the second-richest team in baseball, have an enormous amount of money to spend. Curt Schilling, Matt Clement, Mike Lowell, and Eric Hinske, among others, will all be free agents at the end of this year, leaving the Sox with few holes on their team and nearly $50 million to spend. After next year they'll be free of $28 million in obligations to Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek. It sounds sensational, but there truly isn't a better fit for Rodriguez, and the smart money looks to be either on him making his way to Boston, or on the threat of his doing so forcing the Yankee chieftains to relent and make a liar out of their GM."