Alex Rodriguez aims to show he 'still can contribute' for Yankees despite reduced role

NEW YORK -- The 12-year association between the New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez appears to be reaching its end game.

In separate interviews Tuesday at CitiField, A-Rod delivered what at times sounded like a farewell address and manager Joe Girardi acknowledged what has been obvious for the past month, that the 41-year-old DH's playing time, already drastically cut, is about to be further reduced.

"In maybe the near future, do I see him getting a ton of at-bats? No, I probably don't because of some of the changes that we're possibly going to make here,'' Girardi said. "We're going to take a look at probably some younger players here a little bit, see if we can add to some of the struggles we've had offensively and see if they can be some big bats in the lineup.''

''No matter what happens I'm at peace with myself,'' said Rodriguez, who was not in the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Mets and has started just one game since July 22. "I think stilI can contribute. I think I can help out in the clubhouse. But If not I have two beautiful daughters waiting for me in Miami.''

Talk of an impending release of Rodriguez, who has one more year and $21 million left on his contract, heated up on Monday when a New York tabloid, citing unnamed sources, said Rodriguez "could be released'' before the end of the season.

And owner Hal Steinbrenner, appearing on "The Michael Kay Show'' on 98.7 ESPN FM,did not deny the report while saying that the Yankees had not yet discussed Rodriguez' fate.

"We have not discussed anything about what we're going to be doing in the hours and days to come,'' Steinbrenner said. "We've just been focusing on trades. I've seen the articles. I don't know where they're coming from but none of that has been discussed with me.''

"I hope not. I hope not,'' Rodriguez said in the visitor's clubhouse Tuesday evening when asked if he believed the Yankees were about to release him. "I spoke to (GM Brian) Cashman. He said they haven't had a conversation, they haven't thought about it. Again, that's out of my control.''

He then launched into what sounded like a retrospective of his Yankee career, which began when he was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers for Alfonso Soriano on Feb. 16, 2004.

"Look, I've had a long career,'' Rodriguez said. "I've been through a lot. I'm happy to be a Yankee. I love New York. I think I have a lot to contribute still. But you have to be realistic.''

Rodriguez' lack of production following a surprising 33-home-run season in 2015 is one of the main reasons the Yankees have flirted with mediocrity all season. The decision to part with the two dominant relief pitchers and Beltran, the club's best hitter, signaled an unprecedented era in Yankee baseball, the trade deadline fire sale.

"Nobody in this organization has quit anything, look what they did last night,'' Steinbrenner said, citing the Yankees' 6-5, 10-inning victory Monday night.

But the owner made it clear that the deadline-day deals signaled a youth movement for the Yankees, who have been hampered in recent years by an aging roster and few major-league ready prospects in their system to replace them.

"I think it's not a big secret that we have struggled in our player development system,'' Steinbrenner said. "But now I think some of them are legitimately ready for a shot. I think the future's looking bright.''

That future is unlikely to include Rodriguez, a reality that A-Rod seemed to understand and accept.

"Look, I have to look in the mirror, we have to look in the mirror,'' he said. Of course, I would love to play more. But I haven't been good, and that's on me. I know that the organization has a brighter future today than it did last week and hopefully I'm part of that equation. But if not I can accept it very clearly.''

A-Rod's role in the Yankees starting lineup, already diminished because of his anemic offensive numbers -- .205 batting average, nine home runs, 29 RBI and .611 OPS -- will be further reduced when the Yankees receive an influx of young players this week.

The Yankees traded four players - Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova -- over the trading deadline and added 12 prospects to their minor-league system. The open spots in their roster leave an opportunity for some of their long-time Triple A prospects to join the team, and the intention seems to be to play them for the rest of the season to see what they've got.

Over the past four days, the Yankees have added outfielder Ben Gamel and pitcher Luis Severino from their AAA affiliate in Scranton, and catcher Gary Sanchez, the top-rated hitting prospect in their farm system, is expected to join the team on Wednesday.

The addition of Sanchez is expected to afford Girardi the flexibility of using him or Brian McCann in the DH spot, and the possible call-up of Tyler Austin in the near future could also create some DH at-bats for Mark Teixeira.

"We've been looking for opportunities to get him into games,'' Girardi said. "And that's something I'll continue to look for ways, but it could (mean fewer at-bats) because we talked about maybe calling some younger kids up and giving some at-bats to other people."

Told it sounded like both he and Alex were resigned to a parting of the ways sooner rather than later, Girardi said, "Not necessarily. We haven't sat down as an organization and said this is what we're going to do. But this has been difficult for him. Difficult for this organization. And difficult for me.''

Rodriguez, who is four home runs short of 700, shrugged off suggestions that the Yankees were putting him in an untenable situation by requiring him to produce at the plate in order to get more at-bats, while at the same time reducing his chances to play.

"Look, I'm one of the luckiest human beings on the planet,'' he said. "I respect everything Cashman is doing. I trust Hal Steinbrenner's plan. I will forever be a Yankee fan. I hope I can contribute. I hope I can stay here for the remainder of my contract. It's been a tough year for me, but I have a history of coming back. And whatever the results are, I'm happy with.''