Yankees Trade Rumors: Trading A-Rod Will Backfire on the New York Yankees

There's no way trading Alex Rodriguez works out well for the Yankees. It's not possible. Not in today's league.  

The typical Yankee fan assessment of a Rodriguez sounds like this: "Ahkay, lissen. Get ridda A-Rod. He's a bum. Give him to Miami or Chicago or, I don't care, freakin' Pawtucket, but get dis bum outta my pinstripes. He's a choker. He's terrible. I don't care what we gotta do."

Except, New York, you do care what you gotta do, because what you gotta do to get rid of him is worse than keeping him.

Let's put aside, for a moment, the fact that A-Rod has trade approval and has shown no sign he wants to leave the Bronx. Under the terms of the trade Keith Olbermann seems to have pulled out of his...uh, out of thin air, if he goes to Miami, the Yankees have to take Heath Bell, pay Bell's bloated salary, and pay A-Rod's salary anyway.

Excuse me, what? You want to trade a horrifically expensive class act in his declining years for a horrendously expensive clubhouse cancer whose public tantrum drew him a public rebuke from his teammates, and then pay them both? 

If he goes to the White Sox, the Yankees have to take back Adam Dunn (and keep paying A-Rod). If you think you hate A-Rod's strikeouts, Yanks fans, wait until you see Adam Dunn's. And you will see them a lot—Adam Dunn had a hundred and six more K's this year than A-Rod did.

LA? Not unless you want Vernon Wells, which you do not.

However, suppose the Yankees cave to fans and media and find some way to ship A-Rod out of town. Who's playing third? Eduardo Núñez? You sure? Núñez is a true shortstop, not a third baseman. Derek Jeter is older than A-Rod and will be coming off a broken ankle in Spring Training.

You can't afford a star at third—you'll still be paying your last star third baseman. So the likelihood that an A-Rod in decline is still your best option at third is very, very high.

And the final piece of potential regret is this:

Player A's Playoff Numbers: 7 GP, 25 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 12 SO, .120 BA

Player B's Playoff Numbers: 4 GP, 17 AB, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 SO, .176 BA

Player A is Alex Rodriguez in 2012 and Player B is Derek Jeter in 2007.

Jeter's numbers the next time the Yankees made the postseason: 15 GP, 64 AB, 14 R, 22 H, 10 BB, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 11 SO, .344 BA.

And a ring.

Players bounce back.