Alex Rodriguez Has No Plans To Retire, Continues Rehab Amid PED Scandal

Alex Rodriguez is caught up in a performance-enhancing drug scandal and an injury on top of his disappointing end to the 2012 season, but the Yankees’ slugger said he isn’t ready to walk away from the game just yet.

A source noted that A-Rod is working diligently on his rehab and plans to get back on the field as soon as possible, ESPN reported.

“Alex has no plans at all to retire,” one source with close, personal ties to the embattled third baseman told ESPN New York on Thursday.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be back with the Yankees. After a report from the Miami New Times implicated Rodriguez in a South Florida-based performance enhancing drug ring, the team is reportedly “fed up” with the star and is looking for a way out of his contract. He is owed another $114 million through 2017, including a possible $30 million more in incentives based on home run milestones.

That all could be lost in the PED scandal. ESPN notes:

“Since the disclosure this week of the presence of Rodriguez’s name in the records of Anthony Bosch, a “nutritionist” whose Miami-area anti-aging clinic is suspected of supplying human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, speculation has run rampant that perhaps Rodriguez never would play another game for the Yankees.

“One report even went so far as to suggest that Rodriguez might retire from baseball, leaving behind the remaining money on his contract. But the word coming out of Miami, where Rodriguez has been rehabbing since undergoing hip surgery earlier this month, tells a different story.

“Both sources paint a picture of a player who, although stung by what he believes is a campaign by the Yankees to rid themselves of his onerous contract, is working hard to return to action sometime after the All-Star break.”

The report included not only Alex Rodriguez, but a number of other big-name stars and others who had never been implicated with PEDs.

From the Miami New Times:

“Then check out the main column, where their real names flash like an all-star roster of professional athletes with Miami ties: San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, Oakland A’s hurler Bartolo Colón, pro tennis player Wayne Odesnik, budding Cuban superstar boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz. There’s even the New York Yankees’ $275 million man himself, Alex Rodriguez, who has sworn he stopped juicing a decade ago.”

But the scandal aside, the future for Alex Rodriguez comes down to talent. If another team believes he can contribute, A-Rod will likely have a place next season. If teams believe that he has no gas left in the tank, he may not have any choice in his retirement.