According to a report on SI.com by Jon Heyman and a report by the Associated Press carried by several outlets, Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his current contract with the New York Yankees and will test the free agent market this off-season. Ken Rosenthal broke the news during the World Series telecast on Fox and the Cubs were one of the teams brought up as a possible destination for Rodriguez. Scott Boras made the announcement on Sunday night that Rodriguez opted out of the remaining 3 years of the contract he signed with the Texas Rangers in 2000. The original deal was worth a reported $252 million over 10 years.
Brian Cashman has stated the Yankees will not negotiate a new contract with Rodriguez if he opted out of his current one. The Rangers still owe the Yankees $21.3 million over the last 3 years of A-Rod’s original contract. Several reports on Saturday indicated the Yankees were set to announce a contract extension with Rodriguez that would pay him between $27 million and $30 million a year for at least the next 5 years.
The official announcement that Rodriguez has opted out of his contract is expected to be made on Monday.