ESPN is looking to drop an A-Bomb on its chief rival by stealing Alex Rodriguez away from Fox Sports.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports is trying to lure the former Yankees superstar and current MLB analyst away from his present media employer, multiple sources tell Sporting News.
ESPN would even be willing to "share" A-Rod with Fox, but Fox is not interested in such an arrangement involving the three-time American League MVP and 2009 World Series champion, who signed a multiyear contract with the Los Angles-based network before last season.
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"ESPN wants A-Rod badly," said a source with knowledge of the talks, "but Fox, in general, is not good about sharing talent."
Fox, ESPN and Rodriguez's media representative declined to comment.
The ESPN deal is not done, and the Miami-based A-Rod would have to think twice about leaving Fox. He has been brilliant on TV ever since debuting in the 2015 MLB postseason. His performance has helped him rehabilitate his steroids-tainted image.
Fox's studio pairing of A-Rod, Pete Rose, Frank Thomas and Kevin Burkhardt drew critical raves. Rodriguez was compared to the gold standard for sports studio analysts, Charles Barkley of TNT's "Inside the NBA."
His high-profile romance with Jennifer Lopez has taken Rodriguez's post-baseball stardom to another level.
And with former Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone leaving ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" to manage the Bronx Bombers, history is poised to repeat. Just as in 2004, A-Rod is in line to succeed Boone in a high-profile gig. Back then, it was at Yankee Stadium rather than at ESPN.