Is Miami Homecoming Inevitable Next Step in A-Rod's Turbulent MLB Career?

Like all stories, Alex Rodriguez's MLB journey can be broken into chapters.

First, there were the salad days in Seattle when a toolsy teenager took the league by storm, ultimately guiding the Mariners to three postseason appearances with a mix of speed and raw power.

Then there were the turbulent Texas years, when A-Rod inked a then-record-shattering 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers and won his first American League MVP Award in 2003 but was shipped out via trade the following season.

Which brings us to the most recent mini-saga, which might aptly be titled "The Rise and Fall in the Bronx." This is the part where our hero-turned-anti-hero wins two more MVPs and a World Series in 2009 before it all comes crashing down under the weight of steroid allegations.

A-Rod is still writing his New York Yankees chapter, and with each statistical milestone, he adds another wrinkle. 

The question is already germinating, though: What comes next for the game's most polarizing player? When Rodriguez sheds the pinstripes, what uniform, if any, will he put on?

That "if any" bit is important. Rodriguez's contract with New York runs through 2017, meaning he won't hit the market until his age-42 season.

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press/Associated Press

Here's an interesting thought, recently floated by ESPN's Buster Olney: A-Rod as the next manager of the Miami Marlins. 

Yes, it's just a wild theoretical exercise. Neither the Yankees nor the Marlins have said anything that would indicate a deal is brewing (Olney posits this could happen as soon as 2016), and Rodriguez hasn't said whether he'd like to become a skipper at all.

Still, Olney makes at least a semi-compelling case. A-Rod has a deep knowledge of the game. He likes mentoring young players. Performance-enhancing-drug allegations didn't prevent others—Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds—from sliding into coaching or instructional roles. 

Most of all, Olney argues, Miami might be the only place A-Rod could safely land with all his baggage in tow:

"

Rodriguez grew up there, and he lives there now. And remember, the community of Miami seems to be more forgiving than other places; it's like a coastal version of Las Vegas. One of the most celebrated teams in the city's history is the University of Miami Hurricanes football team, and the outlaw nature of that program is an important part of its lore.

"

So it's a fit, or a potential fit. Certainly the Marlins and controversial owner Jeffrey Loria have shown a willingness to make bold, questionable decisions. 

Honestly, though, this feels like a reach.

Unless Rodriguez were to become a player/manager—an animal MLB hasn't seen since Pete Rose played the dual role for the Cincinnati Reds in 1986—he'd be giving up a chance to carve more notches in the record book.

Let's say Rodriguez finishes this season with 25 home runs, a reasonable assumption considering he's already got 12.

Then, let's go even further and say he averages that same total for the final two years of his Yankees contract.

Under that rather optimistic but not wholly ridiculous scenario, Rodriguez would hit free agency with 729 career home runs, 33 shy of Bonds' all-time record. There would be a temptation, if his body allows, to delay retirement and chase immortality. 

And if he joined Miami as a player, he'd be forced to play the field in the designated hitter-free National League, significantly limiting his at-bats.

If A-Rod does decide to manage, if Olney's hypothetical somehow comes to pass, he'll have plenty to impart.

Just ask Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, who also grew up in Miami and called Rodriguez a "great mentor," per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. 

"You sit back and you learn the good and you take the bad from what he did," Machado told Kepner.

That's Rodriguez: transcendent talent, lightning rod, cautionary tale. Future leader in the dugout for the Miami Marlins?

Probably not. Then again, in the saga of A-Rod, stranger things have happened.

All statistics current as of June 14 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.