NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez said contract talks with the New York Yankees are "in the bottom of the fifth inning."
A-Rod didn’t go into detail but in a video interview with MLB.com posted over the weekend did refer to negotiations that are leading toward a US$275-million, 10-year contract with the Yankees.
"When the time is right and I have a proper forum … I think it’s important for New York fans, for the New York Yankee fans, to realize exactly what happened, from A to Z," said Rodriguez, expected to win his third AL MVP award Monday.
Rodriguez did talk about how he approached Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner to restart negotiations after agent Scott Boras told the team A-Rod was opting out of the final three seasons of his $252-million, 10-year contract.
"I think it’s the best way you can do things, you know, and I felt sometimes, you know, the messages can be mixed up and you may be getting some information that is not 100 per cent accurate," he said. "I just took it upon myself to call Hank and, you know, talk to him and have a chat with him one on one."
The sides have agreed to the outline of the deal and are working to finalize it. Rodriguez talked about his desire to stay in New York.
"Long after baseball, New York is going to be part of our lives," he said. "I have some unfinished business in New York.
