NEW YORK -- Alexander Rodriguez plans to wear a baseball uniform again this spring, but he will be doing so as a special advisor and not as an active player.
"Alex is enjoying his time off and looking forward to heading to Spring Training to work with the young guys, as he has said all along," Ron Berkowitz, A-Rod's spokesman, told the New York Daily News.
After being unconditionally released by the Yankees in August, Rodriguez accepted managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner's invitation to serve as a special advisor and instructor for the Yankees through Dec. 31, 2017.
Though he played his final game in pinstripes on Aug. 12, Rodriguez never specifically said he would retire from baseball, though he indicated at the time that he was "at peace."
"I've got to tell you, it's going to be tough to top that," Rodriguez said shortly after notching career hit No. 3,115, a run-scoring double off the Rays' Chris Archer in his final game. "That's a memory that I will own forever."
That left open the possibility that the 41-year-old Rodriguez, who hit 696 home runs over 22 seasons in the Majors, could suit up for another team if such an opportunity presented itself.
While the Yankees owe Rodriguez $21 million for the final year of a 10-year, $275 million extension signed prior to the 2008 season, any club that signed him would be responsible only for the Major League minimum salary.
But Rodriguez has seemed to enjoy his early foray into the coaching world. In September, Rodriguez checked in on the Instructional League proceedings at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla., spending one-on-one time with prospects like Clint Frazier, Blake Rutherford and Jorge Mateo.
"This was Hal's idea," Rodriguez said. "I give him a lot of credit for believing in me, having the faith in me. I think he recognized early on that I really enjoyed working with some of our great players that have come through our system."
Rodriguez has also earned positive reviews in front of the camera; the three-time MVP again served as a FS1 analyst during the most recent postseason, opening another potential post-baseball avenue.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the Daily News that while Rodriguez is free to do as he pleases, the organization would welcome the opportunity to have him impact their young players in Spring Training.
"All the parameters have been vocalized, and they remain the same from last year," Cashman said. "He's got a life to live, too, and I'm sure he's going to have a lot of opportunities in broadcasting, in business. People will be tugging him in a lot of different directions."