Alex Rodriguez: What the Future Holds for Slumping Superstar

With whispers that Alex Rodriguez might be heading to Miami to join the Marlins (via Keith Olbermann), it's time to look at what a team might get from a player who used to be atop the baseball world.

Rodriguez, now 37 years old, is not the same player as he once was—that much is clear. He's hit under .280 the past three seasons and hit a combined 34 home runs the last two years.

It adds up to a bleak future for the third baseman.

The 2012 postseason truly exposed A-Rod for what he is these days: a former slugger who can't hit 20 home runs in a season anymore or get around on fastballs as well. He was 3-for-25 with 12 strikeouts in the playoffs. He didn't play in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers and didn't start in the Yankees' season-ending Game 4 loss.

So what does A-Rod bring to the table now?

Well, not much, and that includes his fielding.

Rodriguez would have ranked behind nine other third baseman in terms of fielding percentage (.957) if he qualified this season, per ESPN. He's historically been a good fielder, but even that appears to have gone by the wayside in 2012.

What you are looking at is a No. 5 or No. 6 hitter these days. It's hard to even fathom that the 14-time All-Star, MVP and World Series champion has fallen that far, but he has. He's become an average third baseman, in all aspects, after dominating the game for so many years.

It's part of the reason why I don't even think the Marlins should trade for him, even if the New York Yankees assume all of his contract. 

There's also the fact that A-Rod has generally struggled in the postseason throughout his career, minus a few years.

That is especially true these days. Rodriguez has gone 12-for-75 in the playoffs the past three years (.160), while hitting zero home runs and notching 24 strikeouts. What good is a player if he doesn't give you anything when it matters most?

Even if you are a struggling ball club, if you take A-Rod all you do is take time away from developing some youngsters and moving forward. Accepting ordinary is not the way you get ahead in this league.

What does the future hold for Alex Rodriguez?

A whole lot of mediocrity and disappointment, wherever he spends his last years on the field.