Alex Rodriguez has indeed been working with Barry Bonds this offseason as he attempts to get ready to rejoin the Yankees for the 2015 season.
Rodriguez spokesman Ron Berkowitz confirmed a Tuesday report by the San Francisco Chronicle stating the two disgraced sluggers have met, adding Rodriguez has been seeking advice from other ex-players.
“Alex has consulted numerous former players and coaches as he continues to work towards spring training, including most recently Edgar Martinez, who worked with him last week in Miami,” Berkowitz said in a statement.
Berkowitz confirmed Bonds is one of those “numerous former players.”
The Chronicle report indicated Rodriguez and Bonds worked on Rodriguez’s swing recently at a facility in San Rafael, Calif., in the Bay Area.
Rodriguez is coming off a year-long suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis drug scandal, and Bonds is obviously no stranger to PED controversy.
The all-time home run king retired with 762 homers, but was forced out of the game because of his ties to PEDs.
Rodriguez has three years remaining on his contract with the Yankees and is hoping to rebuild his reputation — no easy task for someone who will turn 40 in July, has had a pair of major hip surgeries and twice has admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said he is not expecting anything from Rodriguez this season. The team re-signed third baseman Chase Headley to a four-year, $52 million contract to be the everyday third baseman, so the only realistic goal for Rodriguez figures to be a right-handed DH.