Alex Rodriguez grievance deadline put on hold by league, MLBPA

The next phase in the looming drama between Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees has been put on hold, according to an Associated Press report.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to push back the deadline for A-Rod to file a grievance against his current employers for their refusal to outright pay his $6 million home run bonus.

Rodriguez tied Willie Mays for fourth place on the career home run list on May 1, which triggered a milestone clause in the 10-year, $275 million contract he'd signed with New York in December 2007. Rodriguez would also be due the same bonus in the unlikely case he ties Babe Ruth for third place, and down the road Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.

In the weeks leading to the event the Yankees made it crystal clear they had no intentions to comply with that contract or pay A-Rod outright, stating that the bonus was based around potential marketing opportunities that were no longer available following his suspension stemming from the Biogensis scandal. In the weeks that have followed, they have not backed off that stance, but according to the New York Post have offered to settle the case with a charitable donation.

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Obviously, A-Rod hasn’t accepted that offer, meaning the dispute continues.

Under the league's labor contract, A-Rod had a 45-day deadline to file a grievance. That deadline was to have expired this week, however MLB and the union said Tuesday that the deadline is on hold for as long as the two sides agree.

Essentially, the deadline has been waived, which will allow this matter to be resolved in the offseason. That way it creates much less of a distraction for all parties involved. We're sure the league doesn't mind either, especially now with the Cardinals hacking scandal dominating the news. They want to keep as much focus as possible on the field, and another A-Rod hearing on top of that developing story wouldn't work.

It should be added there's no such bonus for A-Rod achieving 3,000 hits. With two hits on Wednesday night, Rodriguez now sits on 2,997 for his career. As many have noted, while the Yankees basically ignored the home run milestone knowing it would complicate and contradict their stance on his bonus, they're pretty much free to celebrate 3,000 hits. Though honestly, it would still send mixed signals.

It will be quite interesting to see how that's handled by the Yankees, it will be equally interesting to see how the bonus issue is sorted out as well.

The drama awaits.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813