Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter thinks his catcher Matt Weiters could become a New York Yankee if Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is suspended, according to ESPNNewYork.com. Showhalter doesn’t think that’s fair.
If Rodriguez sits out for all of 2014 due to his connection to the Biogenisis scandal, the Yankees are not obligated to pay him the $25 million he would receive. (The third baseman is in the sixth year of a 10-year, $275 million deal.) That gives the team $25 million they can spend elsewhere. It also helps the team achieve the $189 million payroll owner Hal Steinbrenner wanted for 2014.
The Yankees would face a 50 percent luxury tax in 2014 if their payroll is above $189 million. If their payroll drops down to below $189 million, they would a face a 17 percent luxury tax and have much more money to spend.
In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Showalter said he doesn’t see why the Yankees should significantly benefit from the suspension.
"If Bud lets them get away with that, they're under the luxury tax," Showalter said. "If they can reset, they can spend again, and I guarantee you in two years Matt Wieters is in New York."
"They're the ones who signed him to that contract," he added.
If A-Rod receives a lifetime ban, the Yankees would not have to pay him the $86 million they owe him from 2014 to 2017.
Weiters is currently 27-years old. He has a .239 batting average with 14 homers and 49 RBIs in 2013.
The Orioles catcher is up for free agency in 2015. After this season there are a few Yankees that will be free agents—second baseman Robinson Cano, outfielder Curtis Granderson, relief pitcher Joba Chaimberlain and starting pitchers Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettite and Phil Hughes.
Major League Baseball and Rodriguez’s lawyers are currently in talks concerning a possible deal. Rodriguez is scheduled to play a rehab game with the minor league Yampa Bay Yankees as a part of his recovery from hip surgery and a recent quad strain.
