Why would Baltimore be any kind of a fit?

Put aside the difficulty of any inter-divison trade, let alone one this difficult.

Machado was more or less an equivalent player at the hot corner (0.5 WARP in 202 PAs vs 1.2 in 529), lower OBP than arod, better defense, otherwise comparable average and power.

Chris Davis was clearly a better hitter than arod; why take a step back at DH?

Baltimore can best improve it's chances of getting past the Yanx by leaving arod on the Yanx, not by taking him off their hands.

The Yankees' best option is to tell A-Rod he's going to be relegated to only playing v. lefties. That kills his chances of the HR record and he ends his career sitting a majority of time on the bench and getting booed every at bat for all the money he's costing.

Propose a mutual parting of the ways. Pay him a one time severance payment of $20m - $30m and let him be a free agent.

The question is, does A-Rod leave all that money on the table to win over the fans and finish his career and go after the records on his own terms? It's an interesting dilemma.

Toronto is not a fit either, as they have Lawrie at 3B and Encarnacion at 1B and DH. A-Rod could have some AB's from the DH spot but at his price, the Jays could find better.

Yes, I forgot to mention the Union factor. I know that is an issue too. Thanks for adding that point.

Thanks for exploring this, and you rightly stress the implausibility of any conventional solution. The most interesting idea explored is that Rodriguez himself, after a few more years of declining results, boos and unkind press, decides he can't reach the Aaron or Bonds numbers for home runs, THAT could trigger his self-exit, but I don't see anything else doing it. Regards,

A-Rod is a stranger in a strange land nobody wants him except the ladies above the Yankees dugout who gace him their phone number.

gave

I don't know this for sure, but I guess if the Yankees give the Mariners (Angels, Orioles, etc) $70mil in cash, that $70mil doesn't count towards the hard cap of $189mil for luxury tax penalties?

For example, does the $8.5mil they are kicking in for AJ Burnett next year count against their $189mil number?

Assuming that's the case, the Yankees have a huge incentive to eat as much of the contract as it takes to get rid of him, because they have cash to burn but won't spend it because they don't want to go over the magical $189mil limit.

Has there ever been a player more unappreciated by his fanbase than Rodriguez and the Yankees fans?

The postseason OPS' of Jeter and Arod are almost identical, yet Arod is a postseason choker. The NY media hates him and have spoonfed their bile to Yankees fans for years. It is a joke.

At first I couldn't imagine a team that would take him, but it seems like every year the Angels sign or assume a horribad contract on an aging player, so maybe A-Rod is going West.

If there's one thing Kenny Williams can't get enough of, it's aging former All-Stars. A-Rod goes to Chicago in a Manny Ramirez-type deal, with the Yankees picking up $20m a year in sunk costs just to get his stink out of the Bronx.