Yu Darvish’s camp was not at all pleased to hear what Alex Rodriguez had to say about the Chicago Cubs right-hander.
During the ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball” telecast of the Cubs’ 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Rodriguez made some critical comments about Darvish, who has been sidelined since late May with triceps and elbow issues. In his remarks, the retired ex-MVP alleged that the Cubs had allowed Darvish to take control of his own rehab and hinted that he had lost the respect of the clubhouse. Rodriguez also questioned Darvish’s commitment to the team.
On Monday, Darvish’s agent Joel Wolfe issued a scathing response to A-Rod.
“If this story had come from a credible journalist, we might have shown some concern,” said Wolfe, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “But it came from A-Rod, so we’re paying it little attention.
“I think it was classless and bordered on unprofessional to take a little nugget of somewhat exaggerated information from one person that maybe he had history with and turning that into a spokesman for the entire team.”
For what it’s worth, Cubs manager Joe Maddon also took note of Rodriguez’s remarks and said he totally disagreed, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Ryan Davis.
Joe Maddon on Arod’s comments that there are guys in the clubhouse questioning Darvish’s rehab: “I totally disagree with that.”
— Ryan Davis (@RyanQDavis) July 30, 2018
“Joe Maddon cleared that up afterwards,” Wolfe went on. “[A-Rod’s] attacking a player who is injured and on the disabled list, which is difficult for any player, especially one who has a big contract and is in his first year [with a new team]. Imagine how difficult it is for Darvish. But then also attacking him for staying with the team?
“During A-Rod’s absurd comments, the video shows that Darvish was right there on the top step in the dugout cheering on his teammates, which is what you want from somebody like that. He wasn’t hiding out in Mesa at the spring-training complex or back home like A-Rod was when he was suspended.”
Prior to being placed on the disabled list in May, Darvish had gone 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in his first eight starts for the Cubs. It obviously hasn’t been the start that they envisioned for the former All-Star when he signed a six-year, $126 million deal with them in the winter.
As for A-Rod, he continues to rub folks the wrong way as a media personality. Earlier this month, he also blasted another star player over his effort.
