Is Alex Rodriguez Just Trying To Get Back On The Field To Collect His Money?

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez watches a home run sail off of his bat. (AP2011)

Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees’ injured third baseman, may be trying to ramp up talks that he’s ready to return to the field so that he can retire and keep the $114 million owed to him, the New York Daily News is reporting.

Unnamed sources told the newspaper that the former All-Star is worried that Major League Baseball will ban him from baseball after he was connected to the Biogenesis scandal. Rodriguez is intent on making sure he gets back on the field to put his crafty plan into play, the paper claims.

Once he begins playing rehab games, “he could then claim he is physically unable to perform because of the serious hip injury he is recovering from, ‘retire’ from the game, and still collect the full amount of his salary — $114 million over the next five years,” according to the sources.

“It’s all about him getting his money and not losing it to suspension,” one unnamed source told the Daily News. “He knows he’s never going to the Hall of Fame. All that’s left for him is to make sure he gets his money — all of it.”

Rodriguez could return to the game, find out he can no longer perform up to his standards, then retire before he’s hit with a suspension without pay. A player who retires because he is physically unable to perform, even if he’s later suspended, would still get the full amount of his contract.

Other unnamed sources told the Daily News they believe the MLB will try to suspend Rodriguez, no matter his status.

A report by ESPN said Rodriguez is concerned that the Yankees don’t want him back on the field or in the clubhouse, an accusation the team denies.

According to the source, “Rodriguez felt the GM's response was "over the top," and cemented his belief that the Yankees have been looking for ways to rid themselves of the 10-year, $275 million contract they gave him after the 2007 season.

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