So far on Monday there has been some good news for a couple of third baseman in the American League. Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees looks to be getting to work early and Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers will be staying with his team beyond the 2015 season.
The Associated Press reported earlier today that Rodriguez has arrived at the Yankees' spring training facility three days early before position players are required to report. The 39-year-old missed the entire 2014 season after serving the longest suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in the history of baseball. He has played in only 265 games since the 2011 season.
Rodriguez spent the past year getting in shape to preserve his physical health for the upcoming season, and once he was reinstated earlier this offseason, he met with commissioner Rob Manfred as well as top ranking Yankees' officials and apologized for his actions that led to his suspension. Last week he wrote an apology letter to the fans said he's ready to play ball and help the Yankees win.
The Yankees owe Rodriguez $64 million over the next three seasons, but they plan to dispute the $6 million "marketing bonuses" he's set to earn for future home run milestones.
On a more positive note, the Texas Rangers picked up Adrian Beltre's 2016 vesting option that will pay him $16 million, according to Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports' HardballTalk. General manger Jon Daniels said over the weekend that he didn't want the 2016 option to be a distraction for the third baseman and that he hopes Beltre will finish his career as a Ranger.
It's possible a contract extension is now in the works being that Beltre played at a high level in his age-35 season, batting .324/.388/.492/.879 with 19 home runs and 77 RBIs in 148 games with Texas. The Rangers were decimated with injuries last season and Beltre still managed to put up All-Star numbers and win a Silver Slugger Award.
We'll be keeping tabs on Rodriguez's spring training performance and Beltre's contract situation.
