As you’ve probably learned elsewhere, arbitrator Fredric R. Horowitz upheld MLB’s unpaid suspension of Alex Rodriguez earlier today, banning the Yankee 3B from affiliated ball for the entire 2014 season and postseason. While the New York Times’ Steven Elder isn’t optimistic about Rodriguez’ appeal chances (“legal experts say it is unusual for a judge to second-guess an arbitrator in a labor dispute — especially in a situation like this, in which the process was agreed upon by the employers and the employees’ union,”) there’s myriad ways A-Rod could keep his baseball skills from getting too rusty next summer. Amongst the most predictable would be playing independent ball, and who better to make the timely overture than a team that’s previously hosted such reprobates as John Rocker, Armando Benitez, Sidney Ponson, Carl Everett (above) and Jose Offerman? From Newsday’s Mark Herrman :
“While some MLB suspensions have been honored by the Atlantic League in the past, if Alex Rodriguez were unable to participate in the Major Leagues this season, we would be open to exploring giving him a chance to play, stay sharp and compete against a high level of competition while helping the Ducks chase a third consecutive championship,” Michael Pfaff, the Ducks president and general manager, said Saturday in an email.