Baseball: Alex Rodriguez Opts Out of Yankees Contract; Will Become Free Agent

New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who had a spectacular offensive season, on Sunday night informed the team that he is opting out of his contract, according to SI.com.

Scott Boras, the agent for A-Rod, said that he had told the Yankees of the decision. The Yankees had said before the season ended that if Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract, the team would not pursue him, so this would seem to end his tour of duty with the Yankees.

Now that Rodriguez has opted out of his contract, he will become a free agent. He had until 10 days after the end of the World Series to notify the team of his decision.

The Yankees had wanted to make re-signing A-Rod a priority, and there had been rumors that they were working on a big-money package to keep him in pinstripes. One media report said that they were planning to offer Rodriguez a five- or six-year extension that would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million a year.

But in the end, it turns out A-Rod decided to opt out of the contract without even entering negotiations with the Yankees. ESPN radio in New York said that according to Yankee officials, Boras had turned down offers to meet with them in the last few days, so they were never able to present their package to Rodriguez.

The Yankees now have much work to do in the offseason, including finding a new manager after 12 seasons to replace Joe Torre, and trying to re-sign key veterans Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and