The end is near for Jorge Posada: Won't be a Yankee after this year

I don't think the Yanks want to replace Tex with Jorge
anytime soon.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post was the first to bring this up on Twitter the other night, after this year Jorge Posada may no longer wear the Yankee pinstripes. After the 2007 season, the best of the then catchers career, Posada inked a four year $52 million dollar deal, at the time the contract seemed questionable, since Posada was going to be an older catcher. It has turned out to be a bad contract but not terrible, Jorge did miss most of the 2008 season, but was able to play in 2009 and then really declined behind the plate in 2010. This year is the final year of that deal, and now that he can no longer catch, suddenly a place for Jorge is missing.

Sure he could be the DH again next year, but the Yankees have a bunch of older players that need their half days off, and Girardi and Cashman agree they like to leave the DH slot open to resting some of the players. Add in that Posada has yet to hit this year, and that is what he getting paid the big bucks to do, the end of Jorge's Yankee career will likely come to a close after this year.

It's never easy to say goodbye to a modern day Yankee hero, when Bernie Williams was not asked back following the 2006 season, fans were outraged. The truth was their was no place on the team for him, and in 2012 that same fate will loom for Posada.

This whole "Posada-gate" with him asking out of the line up did not help the possibility of him re-signing with the Yankees after this year. If he is not willing to be a team player and hit 9th, when he's hitting .165, than what will he be like as a part time player next season?

Thanks for the memories Jorge.

If the Yankees don't make the playoffs then, we will know that Jorge Posada's final home game in pinstripes is September 25th 2011 against the Boston Red Sox, the same team he had one of his biggest hits of his career against in the 2003 ALCS. Posada's career might not be done, of course another AL team could add him as a DH, or an NL team may have him as a pinch hitter, but going to another team at the end of a players career always takes some shine away from playing with the same team your entire career. But after this past weekends events, and his declining performance on the field 2011 looks to be the farewell tour.