Recent photos have emerged of returning New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez that are not very flattering. The photos show a noticeably plump Rodriguez grabbing an item from the trunk of his car, and not looking much like one of the world's best baseball players.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recently commented on Rodriguez's fuller physique and said that the team wants him to shed the pounds.
Check Out This Video With A-Rod's New Bod
"Like all our players, you have a report weight we're hopeful that they hit," Cashman said. "He's approaching that. He's not at that spring-training weight that we desire just yet. But there was progress, and he continues to tweak - Matt [Krause, Yankees strength and conditioning coach] continues to tweak his conditioning program."
Rodriguez famously missed the whole 2014 season because of a historic performance enhancing drug suspension that was initially slated to last more than 200 games. It was reduced to 162 games, knocking him out for the whole year.
While many Yankees fans weren't shedding a tear for A-Rod, they were hurting offensively at the hot corner. A-Rod is far from his MVP peak, when he was belting 50-plus home runs and batting over .300, but even his 2012 numbers would have been an improvement.
In 2012 Rodriguez hit .272 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 122 games. The Yankees combination of third basemen in 2013 did not approach that kind of productivity until they traded for Chase Headley, who still proved more valuable in the field than at the plate.
With A-Rod's age, weight, and rust all being major question marks, re-signing Headley may become more of a premium this offseason. Their competition may be lessening too-the San Francisco Giants are reportedly unwilling to go to four years, while the Yankees seem resistant but open.
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