I think the Yankees did the right thing with Alex Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez did the right thing for the rest of his life when they parted amicably last August.

But here is something I have been thinking about lately: What if the two sides agreed that he was getting paid in 2018 anyway, the last year of his contract; that rather than go into retirement, he would get his body as healthy as possible and work at becoming adept at first base. Would he have been a better righty insurance policy this year for the lefty Greg Bird than Chris Carter, Tyler Austin, Rob Refsnyder and now Garrett Cooper?

It is all a pipe dream, and with the size of his celebrity and personality, perhaps Rodriguez would have been a deterrent to the rebuild in some way — though he was always good with young players. Additionally, Rodriguez might have had even less left than Carter. Also, A-Rod’s post-baseball life has gone pretty well for him. But it is an interesting what-if.

Maybe they should get him out of retirement for Bartolo Colon’s debut Tuesday night for the Twins. First, A-Rod is two-plus years younger than Colon. Second, in his career, Rodriguez was 23-for-56 (.411) off Colon with seven doubles, one triple and eight homers — including a three-homer game in 2006. To be fair, the last they faced each other, in 2012, Rodriguez was just 1-for-6 off Colon.

Nationals going all-in

The Nationals acquired the relief help they desperately needed Sunday, landing Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the A’s.

There is an expectation within the industry that no team will be more aggressive between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline than the Astros, especially in trying to find a quality starter, plus a lefty reliever and perhaps a left fielder.

What do the Nats and Astros have in common? Neither franchise has won the World Series — and as the Expos or Nationals, that organization has never even won a pennant. Remember one huge element that compelled the Cubs to surrender Gleyber Torres last July for Aroldis Chapman was that they had gone title-less since 1908, and the Indians gave up Clint Frazier/Justus Sheffield for Andrew Miller, in part, because they had not won since 1948.

The absence of rings is again a motivator this year with the Nats, Astros, Indians and Dodgers (tons of money spent, no title since 1988). The Mariners have gone the longest without making the playoffs (2001), so they will not give up on the season easily. The Rockies haven’t been to the playoffs since 2009 and have never won a title. I believe you will even see aggression from the small-market — but title-less — Rays.