Whether or not the fractured relationship between the New York Yankees front office and Alex Rodriguez can be completely repaired, general manager Brian Cashman is going to give it a shot. 

Per Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York, citing a quote given to ESPN Deportes‘ Marly Rivera, Cashman said a meeting with Rodriguez before spring training to clear the air “cannot hurt.”

A-Rod hasn’t been around the Yankees since the end of the 2013 season. He had planned to attend spring training last year after an arbitrator upheld a 162-game suspension but dropped a lawsuit fighting the ban and stayed away from the team. 

In January, Bill Madden, Teri Thompson and Michael O’Keefe of The New York Daily News reported the Yankees rejected Rodriguez’s offer for a meeting:

The disgraced superstar offered to meet face-to-face with team executives to apologize for his role in the Biogenesis scandal and clear the air before players report to Tampa next month, the Daily News has learned, but the Yankee brass declined the invitation, telling Rodriguez, ‘We’ll see you in spring training.’

Two days after that report, Madden and Thompson released a separate report in which the Yankees were exploring options to avoid paying Rodriguez bonuses in his contract for if he ties Willie Mays, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron on the career home run list:

“The Yankees, however, now view the marketing bonuses as worthless and invalid, according to sources, the result of Rodriguez’s suspension for violating the game’s collectively bargained drug policy and his scorched-earth attack on baseball and the Yankees,” the report says.

The marriage between Rodriguez and the Yankees has been contentious, at best, for years. Things bubbled over after he was implicated in, and eventually suspended for, the Biogenesis scandal during the 2013 season. A-Rod did return late in the season and hit well in limited action. 

Despite trying to wash their hands of Rodriguez, the Yankees are stuck with the third baseman until he decides to retire or when his contract expires after 2017. They could try to release him, though that would still put them on the hook for his salary. 

It’s in the best interest of both parties to sit down, air out all of their grievances and focus on baseball. There will enough of a circus around A-Rod from the media as soon as he steps onto a field in spring training, so the Yankees don’t need to add more distractions. 

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