Alex Rodriguez makes it back to postseason with familiar team

With the Yankees teetering on the brink of elimination, at least one former Yankee is preparing for his return trip to the postseason.

Alex Rodriguez, awkwardly released by the team in August amid one of the worst seasons of his career, will join the FOX Sports broadcasting team as a studio analyst throughout the playoffs.

The move back to the broadcast booth probably was inevitable for Rodriguez, who served in the same role last year after the Yankees were bounced with a loss to the Astros in the wild-card game.

“I had a really good time last year, and I’d be watching every game anyway,” Rodriguez told The New York Times. “I love the game, and I see it as my responsibility to convey what I am seeing in the simplest way.”

He earned mostly positive reviews for his commentary, more than could be said for his on-field performance in 2016, which included career worsts in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as 67 strikeouts in a mere 225 at-bats.

Those numbers contributed to Rodriguez’s cringe-inducing final weeks with the team, when manager Joe Girardi was loathe to play his fading star, essentially reducing his roster to 24 players.

It culminated in the Yankees’ decision to release A-Rod – while keeping him on as a special adviser to the team – and a clumsy, rain-shortened farewell to the former three-time AL MVP.

That goodbye was among the first steps in the Yankees’ nascent youth movement, which spurred the Bombers into playoff contention and to which Rodriguez has been nothing more than a bystander.

“I wanted to be a part of it when they were doing well,” he told the Times. “And I cheer them on every night.”

And like everyone else watching the Yankees this September, he has been impressed by the sensational performance of rookie catcher Gary Sanchez – so much so he switches from saying “they” and “them” to “we” and “our” when talking about the franchise star.

“I love the way we’ve handled Gary,” Rodriguez told the Times. “If he were on any other franchise, he might have been forced up to the team two and a half years ago. But with our depth, it’s allowed him to mature. I see a kid who’s full of talent and confidence and calmness.”

While Sanchez will attempt to nurture those traits in an offseason that could arrive sooner than later – the Yankees are one game from elimination heading into Thursday night’s games with four teams ahead of them for the final wild-card spot – Rodriguez will practice his confidence and calmness on TV screens across America throughout the playoffs.