The New York Yankees are working to void Alex Rodriguez’s contract in light of the Miami New Times report linking him to PEDs, ESPN New York reports.
Miami New Times reported Tuesday that Rodriguez was a client of Anthony Bosch, who ran an anti-aging company that also allegedly supplied performance-enhancing drugs to numerous athletes. Their report states that Rodriguez appeared in Bosch’s records 16 times and that he was associated with products like HGH and testosterone.
Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $275 million contact extension with the team in 2009. The Yankees expected A-Rod to become the all-time home run king and tied many monetary bonuses to his pursuit of the career home run record. His performance has fallen off dramatically in recent years, and the Yankees would like to rid themselves of the $114 million they owe him through 2017.
ESPN New York says the odds are slim that the Yankees are successful in voiding Rodriguez’s contract. They reportedly are exploring around 20 potential different factors that could help them void the contract. Some of the possible reasons they’re exploring to void the contract includes A-Rod consulting a non-team doctor and/or buying illegal products.
A-Rod has denied the report linking him to Bosch.
“The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true,” his publicist said in a statement. “Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch’s patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story — at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez — are not legitimate.”
The Yankees’ case may be weakened by the fact that they continued to pay A-Rod even after he admitted in 2009 to using PEDs. Of course, when A-Rod made his 2009 admission after being busted by Sports Illustrated, he said the usage was confined to his time with the Texas Rangers from 2001-2003.
The Yankees also reportedly have explored the possibility of trading Rodriguez.
