A-Rod Opts Out - A Loss To Yankees?

As the baseball fraternity woke up this morning to the announcement that Alex Rodriguez had opted out of the final three years of his Yankees contract, many will no doubt question if the decision would deliver a knockout blow to the franchise's hopes for next season.

A-Rod led the Major Leagues this season with 54 home runs, 156 RBIs and 143 runs, batting .314 in leading the team to the postseason. Based on this form, any team would consider him an asset and be hard-pressed not to keep the player. However, the American League's Hank Aaron Award winner was an almost non-existent force in the postseason.

Yankees management have come out quickly to defend what many have said to be a lack of desire to keep the star player in New York. Rodriguez was mentioned to have turned down a request to meet with club officials to discuss the new offer and Yankees Senior Vice President Hank Steinbrenner issued a terse statement denouncing the player's oft-repeated claim that he wanted to stay.

It is clear and likely that there is no chance of A-Rod returning. Whether the Yankees can recover from the loss next season remains to be seen. There are many more unsettled issues in the horizon.