NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez will play his final Major League Baseball game Friday. Rodriguez and the New York Yankees made the announcement Sunday before their game against Cleveland.
The Associated Press reported he will stay with the team as an adviser and instructor.
His final game will come against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium. He has played major league baseball for 22 years.
Rodriguez is 41 and is the Yankees’ designated hitter.
Rodriguez is hitting .204 this season. He has hit nine home runs and has 29 RBI in 216 at-bats. He has been on the bench for most of the past month as a result of the worsening slump.
The Yankees were 55-55 in fourth place in the AL Eastern Division. Rodriguez has 696 home runs in his career which puts him fourth on the all-time list.
Rodriguez also received the longest suspension ever for violation of rules against taking performance-enhancing drugs. MLB suspended him for the entire 2014 regular and postseason.