Photo by Keith Allison, used under creative commons license.

So he really doesn’t factor into any of the Yankees short-term or long-term plans. If A-Rod were to end his career based on this injury, 85 percent of his contract would be covered by insurance.

Naturally, the Yankees must be desperately hoping for this possibility. The team has already begun the process of lowering its payroll in order to avoid the exorbitant amount of luxury taxes it owes after each season. Shaving the majority of the $114 million of the payroll the next five years would certainly help that process.

So even if the Yankees can wiggle their way of the contract, A-Rod’s baseball future would remain in jeopardy. Would there really be a team out there who would give the 37-year-old, oft-injured, maligned former star a chance?

Reports surfaced earlier this offseason that the Marlins had some minor interest in trading for A-Rod, who is from the Miami area. However, since the drug allegations are coming out of the Miami area, it seems even the Marlins wouldn’t be crazy enough to bring in A-Rod.

It will be interesting to see how MLB handles this situation. Other stars like Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon were listed in the records. Cabrera and Colon each tested positive for banned substances, but Cruz and Gonzalez had never been suspected of illegal drug use.

The league can administer suspensions based on written records, according to the CBA, but that has not been done before and could spark much controversy amongst the MLB Players Association rank and file.

Either way, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if we have already seen A-Rod’s final jog off the diamond. The Yankees could seek a way to buy out or trade his contract even if he’s able to return from his hip injury.

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