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Just when the New York Yankees allowed us to think we might be done forever with controversies centered around Alex Rodriguez, manager Joe Girardi pulled us back in.

In case you’ve recently crawled out of a cave with no television and/or spotty Wi-Fi, we’re in the final days of A-Rod’s career. After 12 years of Alex’s occasionally great, occasionally not-so-great and presently bad service for the Yankees, the club announced Sunday it will release the 41-year-old slugger from his contract, which runs through 2017, after he plays his last game at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

If you hadn’t been in that cave, you could have seen this coming.

Rodriguez returned from his 2014 suspension to have a heck of a season in 2015, but he’s hit just .204 with a .609 OPS in 2016. He’s also been stuck on 696 career home runs since July 18. All this has forced Girardi to mainly confine Rodriguez to the bench. When the club finally embraced an overdue rebuilding phase at the trade deadline, phasing out A-Rod became an inevitable next step.

And yet there was no fire and brimstone when the word came down Sunday. A-Rod was emotional in a press conference, but not angry. Ditto for the Yankees. Given how just how sour things got between them during the whole Biogenesis thing, this goes to show how far things have come in the last two years.

Since the split did indeed seem so darn amiable, it was no surprise when Girardi tee’d Rodriguez for a proper farewell in the final week of a 22-year career.

“If he wants to play in every game, I’ll find a way,” the Yankees skipper said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

That brings us, at last, to A-Rod controversy No. 4,674.

So far in the final days of A-Rod’s career, the Yankees have played two games against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. A-Rod did not start in a 5-3 loss Tuesday night, nor did he start in a 9-4 win Wednesday night. In all, he’s come to the plate once.

And not by choice.

“I came to the stadium hoping to play all three games, maybe two out of three,” Rodriguez said Tuesday, per Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. “[Girardi] just said, ‘We’re trying to win games.'”

Rodriguez went on to call Girardi’s decision “surprising and shocking.” Those two words can also be used to describe A-Rod’s entire career, in which he’s balanced being a 14-time All-Star and three-time MVP being twice connected to chemical enhancement and frequently playing the part of a heel straight out of professional wrestling.

However, A-Rod did his time for performance-enhancing drugs in 2014 and has played the good soldier ever since his return. He can’t be faulted for wanting to go out with dignity. For that matter, can you blame him if he wanted to get as many chances as possible to bump his career home run total to 700?

All you can do, really, is wonder what Girardi’s deal is. Even the explanation he gave to ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand and others on Wednesday doesn’t clear things up:

Ah, right…except for the fact no manager in the game knows farewell tours better than Girardi.

He’s overseen two of them, one of which featured him routinely prioritizing respect for the farewell tourer over his team’s chances of winning. Mariano Rivera’s final year in 2013 was everything anybody could have hoped for. But when Derek Jeter bid his goodbyes in 2014, Girardi frequently batted him second despite his .256 average and a .617 OPS that was second-lowest in the American League.

Granted, you can use the ol’ “one of these things is not like the other” when placing the careers of Jeter and Rodriguez side by side. And as bad as Jeter was then, A-Rod’s no better now. The optics suggest Girardi knows this. The whispers confirm it.

“Joe believes he’s done,” a source told ESPN.com’s Wallace Matthews. “And he’s still trying to win these games.”

To the first part: sure. To the second part: seriously?

Their efforts didn’t amount to a postseason trip in 2014, but the Yankees were at least trying to contend during Jeter’s farewell tour. They can only say they’re trying to do that now, and they’ll fool nobody when they do. Teams that are trying to contend don’t trade Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran.

That’s not contending. That’s tanking. Make no mistake—Girardi would be committing a far smaller sin by wasting a few at-bats on A-Rod this week than the one he committed when he wasted many at-bats on Jeter throughout 2014.

The times being what they are, Girardi is wrong to view Rodriguez’s farewell tour as a sideshow the Yankees don’t have time for. On the contrary, it’s a sideshow they should have made time for.

For one week, anyway, it’s one of the only reasons for fans to pay attention to the Yankees. That even goes for Red Sox fans. Their “We want A-Rod!” chant was one of the liveliest moments of Tuesday’s game. When A-Rod was called to pinch-hit on Wednesday, it was the liveliest moment of the game:

There’s no escaping thoughts of what Rodriguez might have done with more moments like this. In particular, thoughts of him hushing all the boos with a home run or two to get him closer to 700. Unlikely perhaps, but certainly a tantalizing appetizer for his final farewell at Yankee Stadium.

Mercifully, our not-so-long national nightmare will end Thursday. Girardi has confirmed Rodriguez will be in the lineup against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, giving him a chance to get a few hacks in before his big day at home on Friday.

But rather than the tail end of what should have been a jovial farewell, Rodriguez’s final two games will be more like a consolation prize. And a cheap one, at that.

Sure, you can say the Yankees don’t owe A-Rod anything. And realistically speaking, they don’t. Cliff Corcoran of Sports Illustrated crunched the numbers and found A-Rod hasn’t even been worth half of the $275 million contract he signed in 2007. And yes, he’s cost the Yankees headaches in addition to dollars.

Rodriguez’s good times in pinstripes, however, may be just as plentiful as the bad. Punctuated by MVP campaigns in 2005 and 2007, his first five seasons in New York were terrific. And in 2009, he willed the Yankees to their 27th World Series title almost single-handedly. He hit .438 with five home runs in the run-up to the Fall Classic, and each homer was seemingly more clutch than the last.

If nothing else, that’s the A-Rod the Yankees could have honored in his final days. But rather than let Rodriguez live large, Girardi and the Yankees are saying goodbye by letting him know who’s in charge.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz left Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees after fouling a pitch off his foot in the ninth inning. However, the injury did not keep him out of the lineup, and he is ready to return.

Continue for updates.

Ortiz Active vs. Yankees

Thursday, Aug. 10

Guerin Austin of NESN reported Ortiz is serving as the designated hitter and batting third against New York.

Dombrowski Comments on Ortiz’s Playing Status

Wednesday, Aug. 10

When asked if Ortiz would be available for Thursday’s clash with the New York Yankees, general manager Dave Dombrowski told reporters “I wouldn’t think so, but I don’t think it’s far beyond that.”

Latest on Ortiz’s Injury

Wednesday, Aug. 10

After leaving the game, Ortiz went for X-rays on his foot “with particular focus on [the] midpoint of [his] right shin,” per ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber.

Fortunately, Ian Browne of MLB.com reported results of the X-rays were negative.

Ortiz Crucial Piece for Red Sox in Final Season

Getting Ortiz back avoids what would have been a difficult blow for the Red Sox. For one, he is still one of their best offensive threats who anchors the lineup on a daily basis. He is also a fan favorite and announced he would retire at the end of the season. A lengthy injury would have cost baseball fans the chance to see some of Ortiz’s few remaining games.

Ortiz missed brief action with a sore foot earlier in the season, but he was batting .309 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI in 2016 entering Wednesday night.

The 40-year-old is one of the best sluggers of the last two decades. The 10-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger also helped the Red Sox end their World Series drought as the 2004 ALCS MVP, and he added a 2013 World Series MVP as well.

Ortiz, a member of the 500-home run club, drilled 41 long balls in 2004, 47 in 2005 and 54 in 2006. Despite his age, he still hit 37 home runs with 108 RBI last season.

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Nothing fun lasts forever. Not even the Boston Red Sox‘s lineup, which has gone from spectacular in the first half to slump-tacular in the second half. It needs a pick-me-up.

Enter Andrew Benintendi?

Officially, the answer became yes a week ago. After watching Benintendi launch himself into the top 10 of prospect rankings at Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN.com, the Red Sox called him up for his major league debut on August 2. Pretty good for a guy who was only drafted a year ago.

The early returns are even better. Playing mostly in left field, Benintendi has hit an even .500 in six games. You might need an electron microscope to see that sample size, but that hasn’t stopped the team from being impressed with the 22-year-old.

“He’s handled the environment probably as good as you could,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said, via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. “He’s got a beautiful swing. That’s evident by the way he approaches each at-bat. He’s more than impressed in the games he’s played so far.”

Boston slugger David Ortiz cut straight to the point:

In other words: HYYYYYYYPE! Although in this case, it’s hard to blame the Red Sox for getting worked up.

With an .833 OPS and an average of 5.6 runs per game, the Red Sox offense was a juggernaut in a 49-38 first half. But the second half has put a hex on the bats of Ortiz, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hanley Ramirez, leading to a .746 OPS and 4.7 runs per game. It’s part of the reason they’re only 12-12 since the break.

The Red Sox are basically challenging Benintendi to be for them what Kyle Schwarber was for last year’s Chicago Cubs. Or, for that matter, what Michael Conforto was to last year’s New York Mets. This is quite the challenge.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Benintendi is quite the player.

Like Schwarber and Conforto, Benintendi was a college star who was a top-10 selection in the draft. And deservedly so, as MLB.com posited Benintendi had “the best all-around tools of any college player” chosen in 2015.

Also like Schwarber and Conforto, Benintendi wasted no time putting his tools to good use. Starting at Low-A Lowell and rising to Double-A Portland, the Arkansas Razorbacks alum compiled a .312 average and .932 OPS in 151 minor league games. Those are the numbers of a great pure hitter.

That’s also the book on Benintendi. I covered the basics in my own scouting report of him back in June. Here’s Christopher Crawford and Wilson Karaman going more in depth at Baseball Prospectus:

Benintendi makes things look easy. Despite being no bigger than 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, he generates easy plus bat speed, and his consistent control of his swing along with excellent hands allows him to make hard contact to pitches on every part of the plate. He recognizes pitches well, and though he’s aggressive, he certainly won’t give away at-bats by swinging at pitches out of the zone. There’s also very little swing-and-miss here, as he possesses excellent hand-eye coordination and has a knack for fouling off tough pitches.

The fact that Benintendi drew more walks (74) than strikeouts (63) in the minors speaks volumes about his approach. As for his knack for hitting, you could see what all the fuss was about as he was collecting three hits Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers:

With his first two hits, Benintendi was right on a low-and-away sinker and a low-middle curveball. The low-and-away slider he knocked for his third hit threw him off balance, but he still got enough barrel on it to poke it into right field. On balance, he got good wood on three decent pitches.

It’s too soon to use the word “habit,” but Baseball Savant shows his hits have mostly come against pitches at or below the knees. That’s a good talent to have in today’s MLB. With umpires having become more generous with low strikes, as Jon Roegele of the Hardball Times explained, pitchers have become more aggressive with low pitches:

This is not to be misinterpreted as a sign that Benintendi has total plate coverage. It is, however, a hint that he has the kind of plate coverage a modern hitter should have.

It’s understandable that Farrell is “getting closer” to installing Benintendi as the Red Sox’s everyday left fielder, as he told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. It’s also understandable that Farrell isn’t afraid to use the lefty swinger against left-handed pitching. Per MiLB.com, Benintendi had better than a .900 OPS against southpaws at High-A and Double-A this year.

Rather, the biggest question may be if Benintendi can give the Red Sox anything like the power that produced 20 home runs in the minor leagues. He took a step toward answering that with a long double in his first game at Fenway Park Tuesday night:

There could be more where this came from. Per MLBFarm.com, Benintendi kept the power coming in the minors in part because only 33.9 percent of his batted balls were on the ground. Entering Tuesday, just 40 percent of his batted balls in the majors have been on the ground. If he can keep getting balls airborne, the power will come.

It’s not just at the plate that Benintendi could help the Red Sox. He’s also an above-average runner and defender. If his bat adapts to the majors as well as it should, he’ll be yet another asset for the Red Sox’s elite baserunning and outfield defense.

Of course, it bears repeating that none of this should be written in ink.

It will indeed be Benintendi‘s bat that determines how much playing time he gets. And as much as six games can show, they prove nothing. The more time he spends in the big leagues, the more time pitchers are going to have to feel him out. When the book on the Boston rookie is written, it could reveal one or more holes that deconstruct the notion he’s a complete hitter.

But while optimism about Benintendi‘s role on the 2016 Red Sox only goes so far, the optimism they’re feeling is warranted. This is not a case of a team banking on a bundle of unrefined raw tools, a la dozens of prospects in the minors. Nor are the Red Sox banking on a hitter with great minor league numbers but with serious flaws, a la Joey Gallo. Benintendi began his pro career as a polished product and has avoided any and all tarnishing as he’s moved up the ranks.

It’s too soon to call him a star, but it’s not too soon for him to become a star.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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New York Yankees fading star Alex Rodriguez might be in his final week as a major league ballplayer, but he won’t be getting much of a chance to say goodbye on the field.

After it was announced Sunday that Rodriguez would be released Friday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told the media Tuesday the 41-year-old will not be playing in the first two games of New York’s series against the Boston Red Sox, per ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand.

Rodriguez spoke with the media shortly after learning about his playing schedule, per Marchand: “I’m disappointed. When I heard him say I can actually play in all four games, I was really excited to get some at-bats. I don’t know what happened.”

He was referring to Girardi‘s comments during Sunday’s announcement in which he stated that if the veteran “wants to play in every game, I’ll find a way.”

The New York manager recanted those statements Tuesday, saying he got caught up in the emotional moment.

Instead, Rodriguez will play Thursday night against Boston knuckleballer Steven Wright and Friday, the supposed final game of his career, against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.

But he wasn’t sure if it is going to be the end when asked about it Tuesday: “I don’t know that answer right now.”

He hasn’t started a game since July 31 and has had only one at-bat in August.

With what looks like two more games remaining in a controversial yet Hall of Fame-worthy career numberswise, Rodriguez is four home runs short of 700, as his days as a player look destined to be coming to an unceremonious end.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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There weren’t many who thought Dylan Bundy could substantially contribute to the Baltimore Orioles this season. And that list of people included the organization and Bundy himself.

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The Boston Red Sox (60-50) will begin a key three-game series against the New York Yankees (56-55) on Tuesday trying to move closer to the lead in the American League East standings.

The Red Sox trail the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays in the division and will send Rick Porcello (14-3, 3.46 ERA) to the hill hoping to bounce back from his first loss in 13 starts and stay perfect at Fenway Park as -175 betting favorites (wager $175 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

Porcello went 5-0 in five July starts with a 2.57 ERA, but he gave up three runs and four hits in eight innings of a 3-1 road loss to the Seattle Mariners last Wednesday with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Boston had scored four runs or more in the previous 15 games he started, with the last instance of less than that taking place back on May 6 in a 3-2 loss at New York.

Porcello‘s most recent loss before that setback against the Mariners happened on May 17 versus the Kansas City Royals on the road. Porcello has gone 10-0 in 11 starts at Fenway so far this season with a 3.21 ERA.

The Yankees will counter with Luis Severino (1-6, 6.02 ERA), although he has worked primarily out of the bullpen lately. His last start came against the Chicago White Sox on May 13 and resulted in a 7-1 home loss after he surrendered seven runs and seven hits in 2.2 innings with four walks and two strikeouts.

Severino is 0-3 on the road with a 6.00 ERA.

The Red Sox have won six of the nine meetings played between the teams this year, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, including all three of the games played at home from April 29 through May 1. New York has split the past six with Boston at Yankee Stadium, with the under cashing five times, including four straight.

The last five meetings have all been decided by two or more runs after the previous two were both one-run games won by the home team.

Betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar suffered a left thumb sprain and was placed on the disabled list on Monday. It is uncertain when he will return to action. 

Continue for updates.

Pillar Placed on 15-Day DL

Monday, Aug. 8

The Blue Jays announced the roster move, noting outfielder Darrell Ceciliani was recalled to take his place.

Pillar’s Absence Will Test Toronto’s OF Depth

This is a difficult injury for the Blue Jays to swallow, as Pillar had a breakout season in 2015 with career highs in home runs (12), RBI (56) and stolen bases (25). He provides occasional pop in an already loaded lineup, but he also helps set the table for the dangerous power hitters in the middle of the order with his speed and ability to take the extra base.

Thus far, he’s hitting .292 with seven home runs and 45 RBI in 2016.

His speed also allows him to cover plenty of ground in the outfield, which makes him particularly valuable on the defensive side. According to FanGraphs, Pillar was responsible for 22 total defensive runs saved above average in the outfield last season alone.

The silver lining for the Blue Jays is the fact they still have plenty of offensive firepower even without Pillar. The combination of Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion is arguably the best trio of power hitters in any lineup in the league, and Toronto led the majors in runs scored by a large margin (127) in 2015. 

Yes, Pillar is a critical presence in the order because of his speed and ability to get on base (he posted a career-high .314 on-base percentage in 2015), but there are still enough offensive pieces in Toronto to challenge for a World Series without him.

Perhaps the biggest loss will be in the field, which means Ezequiel Carrera will likely have to shoulder some of the load with his glove.

It is unfair to expect Carrera (or anyone else) to replicate Pillar’s production, especially after the latter’s breakout season, but the replacement outfielder can at least sufficiently plug a hole for Toronto as it chases a championship.

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Eventually, something will tip the scales in the American League East—the most hotly contested and intriguing division in baseball.

Manny Machado might be that something.

On Sunday, Machado clubbed three home runs in his first three at-bats as the Baltimore Orioles rolled to a 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

With the victory, the Orioles grabbed sole possession of first place in the AL East by one game over the Toronto Blue Jays and three games over the Boston Red Sox.

In the process, Machado reminded us all that he’s one of the streakiest, most gifted hitters in baseball—a superstar capable of carrying a franchise.

It’s not that Machado had been dormant before Sunday’s outburst. But after sprinting out of the chute in 2016 like an MVP front-runner, he leveled off a bit.

Machado hit just four home runs between June 25 and August 6 and saw his OPS fall 85 points during that span.

He nearly matched that power output Sunday with homers in the first, second and third innings. He tallied seven RBI. And he gained back 22 points of OPS for good measure.

Let’s gaze upon all three blasts, courtesy of Baltimore’s official Twitter feed:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the swing of a man preparing for liftoff.

We’ve seen this Machado before. After an injury-shortened 2014 campaign, he played in all 162 games last season, cracked a career-high 35 home runs, posted 7.1 wins above replacement and finished fourth in AL MVP voting.

Just 23 entering this season, he appeared primed to attain next-level greatness.

He hasn’t disappointed. In fact, he’s beginning to resemble the peak on-field version of his mentor, Alex Rodriguez—who announced his retirement Sunday—as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan outlined in June:

We can’t say that Manny Machado has become as good as prime Rodriguez. But we can say that Machado is looking about as good as prime Rodriguez….

Prime Alex Rodriguez was worth about seven and a half wins per 600 trips to the plate. Machado is on course to be worth about seven and a half wins per 600 trips to the plate.

Machado can further cement his status among the Junior Circuit elite with a scalding stretch run and push the Orioles into October for the second time in three years.

The Red Sox’s offense has been the toast of baseball for much of the season, and it paces MLB in runs scored and OPS. The Blue Jays are also among the top 10 in both categories and have a 3.75 team ERA compared to the Red Sox’s 4.26.

The Orioles’ starting pitching has wobbled to the tune of a 4.89 ERA. They added left-hander Wade Miley at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, but his eight-hit, four-run debut suggests he won’t be a savior.

The bullpen, which boasts the second-lowest ERA in the AL, is a strength.

Ultimately, though, Baltimore will live and die with its bats, which lead both leagues in home runs (139) and rank third in OPS (.775).

An array of contributors—Mark Trumbo, Adam Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Jonathan Schoop—have chipped in. But this is Machado’s team all the way. If he can go bananas from here into autumn, he could mask a lot of flaws.

Granted, he’s not the only mega-star in the East. Boston has the ageless David Ortiz and a cast of up-and-comers including Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts. The Jays have reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson.

No one, however, combines youth, ability and past results quite like Machado. If you’re looking for a horse to hitch your wagon to, he’s the thoroughbred.

He’ll have plenty of chances to ding his division foes, as the Orioles play the Jays six more times and the Red Sox nine more times before season’s end.

“The game slows down for him sometimes, and he does things that not many people do,” Orioles skipper Buck Showalter said after Machado’s three-homer game, per MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli. “So, get a good seat for it, shut your mouth and try to enjoy it.”

Machado got a taste of the postseason in 2012, when the Orioles snagged a wild-card spot and advanced to the American League Division Series. The New York Yankees eliminated them in five games.

He missed the party in 2014, however, after a knee injury sidelined him in August. The Orioles won the division and swept the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS but fell in four games to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

Now, after a disappointing 2015, they have another shot. They just need that certain something to nudge them over the top.

Something like vintage Manny Machado.

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Amid the worst season of his MLB career, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez announced Sunday he will play his final game Friday before assuming a new role with the club.

The three-time American League MVP made his decision public in a press conference, according to YES Network. Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, A-Rod will become a special advisor and instructor for the Yanks after Friday’s clash with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner released a statement following the announcement, per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal:

Rodriguez was emotional when addressing the media, per Jack Curry of YES Network:

Rodriguez said during Sunday’s press conference that he wanted to continue playing but that the Yankees were no longer on board with that idea, via MLB.com’s Richard Justice: “No athlete ever ends [their] career the way they want to. They all want to keep playing. Saying goodbye may be the hardest part of the job. … I think I can play baseball. You always think you have one more hit in you. That wasn’t in the cards. That was the Yankees’ decision.”

Rodriguez said he is “excited” about his new role and “at peace with the organization’s decision,” per Justice.

There had been whispers that New York would release Rodriguez before his contract was up following the 2017 season.

After the Yankees dealt Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Ivan Nova and Carlos Beltran before the non-waiver trade deadline, Peter Botte and Christian Red of the New York Daily News cited a source who said Rodriguez “could” be released by the end of this season.

Rodriguez did his best to keep a level head when reporters asked him about the possibility of being released.

“I’ve had a great career,” he said Tuesday, per ESPN.com’s Wallace Matthews. “Whatever happens, happens.”

Rodriguez also said he was hopeful the Yankees wouldn’t release him, per Matthews, but that “it’s out of my control.”

Rodriguez has been used sparingly this season. He’s hitting .204/.252/.356, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi has expressed frustration when answering questions about Rodriguez’s status.

“When I don’t play him, I’m questioned,” Girardi said July 30, per Matthews. “When I play him, I’m questioned. Anyone who wants to do it can do it next time.”

Rodriguez said prior to the 2016 season that he would play out his contract, but he and the Yankees have altered their course.

Despite the fact that he will no longer be on the field, Rodriguez is still in line to earn a huge salary, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

After a bounce-back 2015 season in which he hit 33 home runs, Rodriguez is no longer an impact hitter and can’t play the field, so his value is negligible.

His 13-year tenure with the Yankees was never smooth sailing. Though he won MVP Awards in 2005 and 2007, he played second fiddle to Derek Jeter until Jeter’s retirement in 2014.

There were off-field issues, too, notably a season-long suspension in 2014 for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, and Rodriguez never quite endeared himself to the notoriously tough New York crowd.

But now that his career has reached its conclusion, there’s no denying he was one of the best players of his generation. Rodriguez’s three MVP Awards are tied for the second-most in MLB history, and he ranks fourth all time with 696 homers.

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Mired in the worst slump of his career, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira announced his retirement from baseball Friday, effective at the end of the 2016 season, per Pedro Gomez of ESPN:

ESPN’s Buster Olney first reported the news, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed it.

The 36-year-old slugger has been hampered by injuries all season, and he’s hitting just .198 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI. Teixeira hasn’t appeared in more than 123 games in a single season since 2011. He missed nearly all of the 2013 campaign with a wrist ailment, and his 2015 season was cut short due to a fracture in his leg.

Tex was named to his third All-Star team and was enjoying a fine year prior to the leg injury; he was hitting .255 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI in just 111 games. That production lent hope that he would be a key part of the Yanks lineup in 2016, but his stats have taken a nosedive.

The Maryland native was set to hit free agency after the season, and a return to New York was in question due to the impending return of Greg Bird from injury in 2017.

At 54-54 and fourth place in the AL East, the Yankees waved the white flag on the 2016 season after dealing closer Aroldis Chapman, reliever Andrew Miller and outfielder Carlos Beltran for minor league talent.

Teixeira, who played for the Rangers, Braves, Angels and Yankees, has a .269 career batting average with 404 home runs and 1,281 RBI in his 14-year career. He is one of just five switch-hitters in MLB history to go yard at least 400 times.

Teixeira is also regarded as one of the best defensive first basemen of his era, netting five Gold Gloves. He’s likely to fall a tier below the Hall of Fame, though he’s had an excellent career.

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