A person close to Alex Rodriguez told Bob Nightengale of USATODAY that the disgraced slugger has a standing offer from MLB to have his suspension reduced from 211 games to 150 if he foregoes his appeal.
The source told Nightengale that MLB originally offered a 100-game ban before announcing the 211-game suspension, but that the compromise was upped to 150 games once the announcement was made.
MLB denied the report to Nightengale: “We have not offered 100 games and no offer is on the table,” MLB vice president Rob Manfred said in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports.
If this is true, it suggests Rodriguez and the league would still have some room to maneuver should Rodriguez aim for a resolution. Something like 125 games, if accepted soon, would allow him to return right around the All-Star break next year. Rodriguez, though, may like his chances of ending up with a lesser suspension through the arbitration process.
