updated 5:13 p.m. ET March 6, 2009

Back in 2007 when New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez exercised his opt-out clause, GM Brian Cashman and the team's baseball operations department recommended the team let the slugger go, according to a New York Post report.

The reason was that no player should be offered maximum money in to his 30s and his 40s. Cashman, as the Post explains, had been part of too many contracts that left the roster full of declining veterans whose production didn't match payroll.

Future TV ratings as A-Rod chased home run records had a lot to do with the decision to re-sign Rodriguez to a record contract in 2007, according to the newspaper. But now a hip injury and cyst make Cashman appear to have been right. Rodriguez is only 33 years old, and his contract runs until he's 42.

The specters of Albert Belle and Bo Jackson, who were hobbled and eventually forced out of baseball by hip injuries, now haunt the Yankees as they hope Rodriguez can retain his hitting ability and agility in the field.

More on  Alex Rodriguez | N.Y. Yankees

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