Pete Rose's attempts to be removed from baseball's permanently ineligible list have for years had a two-pronged purpose.
Having his ban lifted would open the door for MLB's all-time hits leader to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it also would make him eligible to work for a major league team in some capacity.
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Commissioner Rob Manfred said he will consider Rose's formal request for the ban to be lifted, but it sounds as if Manfred is more enthusiastic about one part of the above equation than the other.
Because Rose's ban resulted from allegations of gambling on baseball while he was player-manager of the Reds, some are wary of the possibility of Rose ending up in a position that would allow him to influence the product on the field. But Manfred told ESPN.com Thursday he isn't sure whether it would be feasible to allow Rose to take a job in baseball that doesn't feature some sort of involvement with the players or the roster.
"While I don't dismiss the idea that there may be some sort of a middle ground," Manfred said, per ESPN. "I think that it is difficult to sit in New York and monitor a situation where somebody is working at a club but he's allowed to do X but not Y, because there's not enough eyes and ears to do that. I guess that is my concern. Maybe it can be worked out, maybe not. But it is a concern of mine, certainly."
As for the Hall of Fame issue, Manfred appears inclined to pass the buck to the powers that be in Cooperstown. The Hall's rules currently prohibit players on the permanently ineligible list from being considered for election, so it would either take a change in policy by the Hall or a change in Rose's status by MLB to get him in.
"Technically, what's within my jurisdiction is the question of whether he belongs on the permanently ineligible list, which relates to the integrity of the game and the institution that I'm charged with protecting," Manfred said, according to ESPN. "The Hall of Fame eligibility issue in some sense belongs to the Hall of Fame."