#OnDeck: Baseball prepares for the return of Alex Rodriguez

New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is ready to "inject some offense" back into the game, and what better way to do that than breaking the chains off the sport's celebrity prisoner, Alex Rodriguez. Manfred had some not-negative things to say about A-Rod in a recent interview with ESPN:

"I've had a nice dialogue with Alex Rodriguez since all the litigation was resolved. We've spoken on a number of occasions. It has been a positive dialogue. I think one of the reasons it's been a positive dialogue is I believe when you negotiate a system with the type of severe penalties that we now have for the us on performance enhancing drugs, the other side of that coin is, once the penalty is over, that individual is entitled to try and resume his career, assuming he can still play."

On whether he thinks he can "forgive and forget" with A-Rod:

"I do. I do. I think that's part of what makes the bargain of severe penalties work."

Karl Ravech wasn't buying it.

Whether you forgot about him or absolutely hate him, Alex Rodriguez will be back in some form this season, casting a shadow over whatever it is you would rather be hearing about in baseball.

By now, we all know the many adventures of Alex Rodriguez. He received MVP votes in all but six of the 20 years he has spent in professional baseball, and five of them were the first two and the last three. Which is indicative of an incredible career, but one that is likely over in its most impressive capacities.  2011-13 have seen his production drop from Hall of Fame heights to a rather boring line of .269/.356/.441 - still pretty good for a 36 to 39-year-old battling injury, the media, and season-long bans, all while simultaneously suing the league and the MLB Players' Union. If baseball's next villain wants to pop up anytime soon, he should do so - without Manny Ramirez around or A.J. Pierzynski shouldering some of this load, A-Rod has to be on the verge of imploding.

After his name was listed among others in the Biogenesis scandal, he received a 211-game ban, the longest non-lifetime ban in baseball's history. As the only player to appeal his sentence, Rodriguez was allowed to keep playing for the Yankees, and his suspension was dialed down to 162 games, or the extent of the 2014 season.

Rodriguez will be attempting to re-enter the game this year, whistling as though everything's fine, despite the clear and very public turmoil the last time he was allowed to be on the field. Even with his ban trimmed down by 49 games, A-Rod dug in and in May 2014 sued Major League Baseball, as well as, why not, the MLB Players Union for what he felt was "perfunctory at best" defense during his initial hearing. The idea was that this would end his suspension. It did not. It did succeed in getting the players union to hate him.

From Rob Manfred's comments in his interview, it seems as though the new commissioner's sense of justice is stronger than his sense of vengeance, which is more than you can say about some of baseball's executives. But to hear Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tell it, baseball is always looking for a reason to keep A-Rod in its crosshairs.

"Could Alex Rodriguez get hit with another penalty from Major League Baseball? The chances probably are slim. But if new details emerge that Rodriguez assisted his cousin Yuri Sucart in the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, baseball might have an opening, sources say."

While baseball does or does not plot against him, A-Rod, at 39 years old, will be seeking a home for the 2015 season. The Yankees, who Rodriguez tried to meet with but was turned away, still haven't released him, in hopes that he'll show up at spring training a complete mess. That way, after cutting him, they'll make back 80% of insurance on the over $60 million he is still owed (From the deal he signed seven years ago that netted him about $170,000 per game).

There were bonuses from a separate deal that rewarded A-Rod $6 million per epic statistical milestone reached (At 654, he's only six home runs from tying Willie Mays), but the Yankees consider those obsolete now, since Rodriguez turned on them and got lawyers involved and all. And it's hard to imagine A-Rod, who has remained very willing to defend himself from all perceived/proven wrongs, wouldn't combat the team on this issue. On this one, he would probably win. Even the Yankees can't re-draft a deal just because they really, really want to. But they can try their best to run him out of New York, which at least one New York Daily News columnist believed is the right course of action:

"It should no longer even be in dispute that the Yankees should do everything in their power, and explore every possible legal option — with the full support of Major League Baseball — to make sure Alex Rodriguez never wears their uniform again."

At least, this was going to be the case until the revelation of what Rodriguez's first move would be upon arriving in Tampa this spring:

Perhaps the Yankees will nod sagely at this apology and welcome their prodigal son back into the fold. Or maybe they'll stay the course and kick him to the curb; in which case, where would he go?

27 months ago, the concept of the Phillies checking on Rodriguez to fill a hole at third base surfaced. Since then, all the reasons to not sign A-Rod have gotten more intense, and the reasons to do so have expired; they no longer have a hole at third base, they have a hole called "the Phillies." The last thing they need is some kind of scenario in which they've brought in an old, shattered player to take at-bats away from Monster of the Dominican Winter League, Maikel Franco, or even Cody Asche or any ancillary character who may wind up being a productive part of a rebuild. It's just not a thing anymore, even theoretically.

What does he offer at this point? Attention, definitely; offense, maybe; defense, less possibly. The ire of the league? You'd think so, but Manfred sounds like he's ready to make everybody hold hands. Wherever Alex Rodriguez goes, you can be pretty sure it won't be "away."

Maybe training with Barry Bonds will help. What do you think, Karl Ravech?