New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez to Rejoin Yankees as Instructor in September

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Alex Rodriguez will reportedly be beginning his role as an instructor with the Yankees in September by working with several top prospects.

Alex Rodriguez will be donning the pinstripes again this month, but probably not in the way he’d most like. The 41-year-old former superstar played his last game for the Yankees August 12th, but it was announced he would remain under contract with the organization as an advisor/instructor through the end of 2017.

A-Rod has kept a very low profile since his release by the team. There was some public interest from the Miami Marlins in picking him up to address their hole at first base, but Rodriguez’s publicist released a statement that said he would not play again this year.

There is still no word on whether he will try and resume his playing career somewhere in 2017, but given how he looked this season and all of the off-field baggage he comes with, he would certainly face an uphill climb towards finding a job.

The Yankees have said they would have no problem with Al suiting up for another team next year, but presumably the best way for him to repair his relationship with the organization with which he is most identified would be for him to focus on his new instructor gig.

It sounds as if his first assignment could come very soon. Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media spoke to Yankees Vice President of Player Development Gary Denbo, who revealed that Rodriguez is expected to work with some of the team’s top prospects during the Florida Instructional League in September. He told the reporter:

I’m very pleased to have somebody with Alex’s experience and time in the game to be able to share those experiences with our young players…Our best young players are all going to be part of instructional league. I think that would be the most productive use of his time.

Notably, the Yankees number two and three prospects according to MLB Pipeline, Jorge Mateo and Gleyber Torres, will be playing in the league this month. A-Rod was reportedly invaluable in mentoring Didi Gregorius during his first year in pinstripes.

It’s easy to forget that Rodriguez was not always an immobile DH. He was an incredible defensive shortstop in his prime and surely has a lot of knowledge to share with the young shortstops. As Denbo put it:

It will benefit not just our players but our managers and coaches as well. They’ll be able to listen to a guy who spend so much time in the game, a guy who’s had all kinds of experiences. He’s an outstanding baseball guy and we look forward to having those types around our players.

It was also previously announced that Alex Rodriguez will serve as a guest instructor next spring training. It’s nice to see the team will actually put Rodriguez’s skills to good use while they still have him under contract.