Ex-Yankee Alex Rodriguez replacing Aaron Boone on ESPN

At least Aaron Boone didn't have to rip up his knee this time.

Alex Rodriguez, for the second time, will follow the current Yankees manager in a high-profile gig. This time, A-Rod will succeed Boone in ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball booth.

In 2004, Rodriguez took over as the Yankees' third baseman after Boone tore his ACL playing offseason pickup basketball.

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Via The Sporting News:

During the regular season, A-Rod would work "Sunday Night Baseball" with Jessica Mendoza, Buster Olney and incoming hire Matt Vasgersian, who will take over as play-by-play announcer succeeding Dan Shulman. During the postseason, when Fox Sports and TBS control the TV rights, A-Rod would continue to serve as a Fox Sports baseball analyst with Kevin Burkhardt, Frank Thomas and guests such as David Ortiz and Keith Hernandez.

The talent-sharing relationship became possible, said media sources close to Fox, after ESPN parent Disney agreed to pay $60 billion to acquire most of 21st Century Fox's assets, including regional sports networks such as YES Network in New York. But sources close to ESPN said that the proposed Disney-Fox marriage didn't play a role in the A-Rod hire.

An A-Rod public image renaissance would have been utterly unimaginable in 2014, when the slugger had been caught using steroids for the second time and suspended for a full season.

But he returned in 2015 and played well, and following his 2016 retirement, he's been seemingly on a mission to get back into the world's good graces.

Rodriguez has impressed as a TV baseball analyst for Fox, boosted his social media image by sharing moments with his family and has been dating megastar Jennifer Lopez for more than a year. The two have even reportedly talked marriage.

A-Rod has also been serving as an advisor to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.

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