A-Rod breaks silence with Ortiz: 'I love Big Papi'

With both of their careers winding down, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz appear to have buried the hatchet.

Two of the remaining players in the once-fierce New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry that peaked more than a decade ago, the duo have been at odds since A-Rod's former lawyer, Joe Tacopina, insinuated two years ago that Ortiz had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

On Tuesday, the two aging sluggers exchanged pleasantries for the first time in two years.

"I spoke to him today," Rodriguez told Scott Lauber of ESPN. "I'm happy for him. He's in a good place."

Both 40 years old, Rodriguez and Ortiz have been immersed in the American League East rivalry since 2004, when A-Rod first landed in the Bronx. Since then, the two have combined to play 3,118 games, club 756 homers, win four World Series titles, and earn over $476 million.

"I love Big Papi. I have a lot of respect for him," Rodriguez said. "I think he's been an incredible ambassador for the game. I'm looking forward to him leaving the game at a height - and for him to leave the game. He's crushed us over the years."

In January of 2014 while speaking on a radio show, Tacopina insinuated Ortiz used PEDs and had gone unpunished.

"People were denying stuff. And I'm not going to start naming all the other players, but some of them are God-like in Boston right now, and people seem to forget that," Tacopina said.

Tacopina eventually stated that he was not talking about the Red Sox designated hitter, though Ortiz stopped speaking to Rodriguez following the comments.