Alex Rodriguez has already had one heck of an offseason: He had hip surgery and is rehabbing in seclusion, he was linked to PEDs again in the Biogenesis scandal and he got replaced by an ex-Boston Red Sox third baseman.
What else could happen to A-Rod before the start of the season? He might just be getting sued by his own kin.
Cousin Yuri — who you'll recall is the cousin A-Rod pointed the finger at in 2009 when it was discovered he had tested positive for steroids in 2003 — is said to be pondering a $5 million lawsuit against A-Rod.
The New York Daily News tracked down the lawyer with whom Cousin Yuri has consulted and didn't get specifics about the lawsuit, but did get this:
“I know there’s a lot of friction. I know that (Sucart’s) name got caught in the crossfire of all the allegations involving all the performance-enhancing drugs,” attorney John Ruiz, who declined to discuss the basis for the lawsuit, told the Daily News. “I’ve been consulted about it. But obviously because there’s an attorney/client relationship, I can’t really divulge details.”
Cousin Yuri's real name is Yuri Sucart, but as a character in the saga that is A-Rod's life, we mostly know him as Cousin Yuri — in the same way we know Cousin Larry and Mr. Belvedere.
Yuri was basically A-Rod's assistant for years. When the steroid scandal broke, he was the fall guy, alleged to have procured the 'roids, encouraged their use and injected them into A-Rod. Yuri was banned from the Yankees clubhouse. A couple years later, he was found hanging out with A-Rod at team hotels on the road and was barred again.
Obviously, something's happened to fracture their relationship. Cousin Yuri made headlines last month for selling a replica World Series ring that A-Rod gave him.
A-Rod's people refused comment on all this, as expected. He reportedly turned down a settlement offer too.
The Yankees are paying A-Rod $28 million this year, and he's likely out until at least July. Our calculator says it'll take 29 games (that he won't play) for A-Rod to make that $5 million that Yuri is said to be after.
If you're A-Rod, here's a quote from the New York Daily News that might make you think about throwing hush-money at Cousin Yuri:
Ruiz told The News on Monday that Sucart has proprietary information about Rodriguez. “I know he was working for (A-Rod) for quite some time,” Ruiz said. “There is information that he has — I guess, only he knows. The public doesn’t know. I’m not at liberty to discuss it as of this point in time.”
"Proprietary information?" What is A-Rod? An iPhone 6? Nonetheless, The Stew can't until five years from now, when A-Rod and Yuri making up is the plot of an E! reality show.
Are you ready for spring training?
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