AMERICAN LEAGUE Rodriguez wins MVP for last-place Texas

He's only the second player to win the award with a last-place team.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez won the AL MVP award, even though the Texas Rangers didn't win many games.
Yet, the Rangers are willing to listen to offers from other teams for the All-Star shortstop -- not that many could afford the seven seasons and $179 million that remains on his record contract.
Talking about trade
After becoming only the second player from a last-place team to win a Most Valuable Player award, Rodriguez confirmed Monday that the Rangers talked to him about a possible trade.
"They presented me with a situation," Rodriguez said. "Whatever they want to do, I'll want to cross that bridge when the time is right. I'm not closing or opening any doors right now."
General manager John Hart said Texas was contacted by several clubs about Rodriguez, but that there was never a specific deal during those conversations several weeks ago.
"We've made it very clear that we think Alex is going to be here," Hart said. "At the same time, we're not going to turn the phones off."
Second twice before
Rodriguez finished second in the MVP ballot twice, to Oakland's Miguel Tejada last year and the Rangers' Juan Gonzalez in 1996. This time, he received 242 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association and was the only player listed on every ballot.
"I felt like I was driving myself crazy over this award. It was painful to come in second place," Rodriguez said during a conference call from his vacation in Mexico. "There's nothing like winning it. I couldn't be happier."
The only other player from a last-place team to be MVP was Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs in 1987.
The 28 first-place votes were split among 10 players, one short of the record set in the 1977 AL vote and matching the total in the 1947 NL vote. Rodriguez got six, the fewest for an MVP winner since the New York Yankees' Yogi Berra in 1951.
Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado was second with 213 points, followed by Yankees catcher Jorge Posada with 194. Delgado and Posada both got five first-place votes.
Rodriguez said he thought there had been talks about a possible trade with "three of four teams" but didn't elaborate. Hart, speaking on a separate conference call, refused to elaborate.
Only a handful of large-market teams, such as the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Dodgers, could take on the rest of his $252 million, 10-year contract, the richest in baseball history.
Rodriguez hasn't been able to turn around the fortunes of the Rangers, who have finished last in the AL West in all three of his seasons while he led the league in home runs.
This year, A-Rod hit .298 with 47 homers and also led the league in runs (124) and slugging percentage (.600), along with 118 RBIs that were second in the AL to Delgado's 145. The Rangers were 71-91.
Trying to cut payroll
Hart said the Rangers will continue the commitment they made to young players midway through manager Buck Showalter's first season. They won't be big spenders in free agency as they work to cut their payroll from more than $100 million last season to the $70 million range.
"With the desire that Alex has to win, the question is does he want to wait for us here or is there something that can provide an opportunity for him to win quicker?" Hart said.
Such a move would give the Rangers more financial flexibility, but Hart said he hasn't been told by owner Tom Hicks to get try to get rid of Rodriguez's contract.
Rodriguez, who has the right to veto trades, said he expects to be with the Rangers next season.
"I'll probably end up being the shortstop for the Texas Rangers this year, and that's fine with me," he said.