New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez Will Play Last Game on Friday, August 12

Alex Rodriguez, the slugger whose 696 home runs, 2,084 RBIs and three MVP awards made him among the most talented players in a generation to pull on the pinstripes for the New York Yankees, will play his last game Friday before being released by the team.

The move signals the end of a playing career marked by mostly sterling stats but forever scarred by revelations of Rodriguez's use of performance-enhancing drugs and the full-year suspension that ensued.

The Yankees will not completely cut ties with Rodriguez. He will stay on the team's payroll and sign a contract to remain with the organization in an advisory role until Dec. 31, 2017. After Friday, A-Rod will be going home and will rejoin the team for spring training next season.

When asked, Rodriguez said that, in the meantime, he may mentor some of the young shortstops currently playing on the Tampa Yankees. Two of the team's top middle-infield prospects, Jorge Mateo and Gleyber Torres, are both on the roster in Tampa.

"After spending several days discussing this plan with Alex I am pleased he will remain part of our organization going forward and trans into a role in which I know he can flourish," Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement.

A-Rod was emotional as he began to speak at a Sunday news conference, where he offered what is sure to be only his first farewell to a game he has played as major leaguer for 22 years.

"I love this game and I love this team and today I say goodbye to both," Rodriguez said, eventually breaking into tears.

Rodriguez finished his speech by thanking the Steinbrenners and his teammates, who were all in attendance at the press conference Sunday. A-Rod said that no athlete ends a career like they want to and said he is looking forward to his new role that will allow him the opportunity to mentor the next generation of Yankees.

Rodriguez also said that sitting on the bench this year has been a painful, embarrassing and awkward experience. Rodriguez cracked the starting lineup just once since July 22 and has just seven at bats since then. In that one start he went o-for-4 with four strikeouts, a dubious feat know as a "golden sombrero."

When asked if he considered joining another team after leaving the Yankees, he said that his horizon is in pinstripes, and that horizon is coming Friday.

Both general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi answered some questions after Rodriguez's announcement.

When asked how Yankee fans should remember A-Rod's tenure with the team, Cashman took off his 2009 championship ring and placed it front and center on the table.

"That's the '09 ring, that doesn't come along to this franchise's trophy case without Alex's significant contributions," Cashman said.

Cashman was calculating and calm as he discussed the business aspects of the move with the media, but Girardi let his emotions show as he talked about A-Rod's playing time in the upcoming week and the loss of a number of veteran players in the past month.

"It's been a tough week, it's been a tough month for a lot of different reasons" Girardi said as his eyes welled up. "We can talk about the trade deadline, we can talk about [Mark Teixeira] and what he's meant to this organization... to lose guys like this — it's hard."

Girardi said that he would talk with Rodriguez about his desire to play in the upcoming week, and if possible he would insert him into the lineup before Friday's game.

Right now Rodriguez is just four home runs away from cracking 700 for his career, a feat accomplished by just three other players. It would require an otherworldly effort from A-Rod to join the 700 club, but hey, stranger things have happened.

The Yankees are on the road in Boston's Fenway Park next week, and there isn't a better venue — other than Yankee Stadium — to break 700.

Ultimately, Rodriguez was the last soldier in the Yankees' changing of the guard. And with him gone, the Yankees are not only waving the white flag on this season but also continuing to signal they're committed to an ongoing youth movement.

Since the Yankees sold off several established players at the trade deadline — swapping Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova for young prospects — A-Rod has struggled to find any playing time.

Depending on whom you ask, Rodriguez is the ultimate player or the ultimate schmuck. Over the past two decades Rodriguez has somehow managed to get mixed up in some of baseball's most memorable moments and controversies.

Whether it was admitting to using steroids early in his career, or kissing his own reflection during a magazine photo shoot, his detractors have always had plenty of ammo.

On the other hand, the guy could flat out play. Over the course of his career he's smacked 696 home runs and tallied 2,084 RBIs while racking up three MVP awards, two Gold Gloves, four Hank Aaron Awards and a whopping 10 Silver Slugger Awards. A-Rod also played a huge role in delivering the Yankees the 2009 World Series.

This year, A-Rod has struggled. He's currently hitting .204 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs. The production certainly doesn't match the $21 million the Yankees are paying him.

Watch the moment A-Rod announced his career is over:

[Photo: Keith Allison]