A-Rod Is a Washed-Up Villain, and the Yankees Should Definitely Keep Him

Alex Rodriguez is back. The New York Yankees third baseman has served his season-long suspension for performance-enhancing drug use and attempted coverup. Now he’s back on the covers of New York tabloids, too, thanks to reports that he admitted his steroid use to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. This latest news brings more information about A-Rod’s urination habits than most fans require.

The return to public attention has brought out a chorus of calls for the Yankees to find a way to dump him before he does any more to “besmirch and embarrass” the team. Standing in the way is the small matter of Rodriguez’s contract. The Yankees owe him $21 million for the coming season and a total of $61 million over the next three seasons to complete the 10-year, $275 million deal he signed in 2007. The contract hasn’t aged well: A-Rod’s 2015 salary is $1 million less than Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who’s seven years younger and roughly seven times as productive.