The Yankees are believed to be willing to bring back third baseman Chase Headley and/or closer David Robertson on a four-year deal as long as the price is right. Their willingness to go four years is different than their reported stance last week, particularly with Robertson, where it seemed like four years might be the deal-breaker. With the two players each having reportedly received four-year deals from the Astros, of all people, it's possible that the Yankees think they can lure them to New York the way they did with Andrew Miller, who left money on the table from Houston in favor of putting on pinstripes.
With Yankees willing to go to a fourth year in their offer to Chase Headley, there is growing hope in the organization they will land him.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 8, 2014Seems like adding on the extra year was all it took for the team to feel like they were fully back in the Headley sweepstakes after reports last week that they might even be backing away from him. All reports are that Headley liked playing in New York and would be interested in a return, which might play to the Yankees' favor with his four-year offer for $65 million reportedly coming from the Astros. Is a brief stint with the Yankees last summer enough to sway him?
Signing Miller meant that the Yankees didn't need to overspend for Robertson, but not guaranteeing Miller any sort of role opened the door for the homegrown closer's potential return. If he, too, would rather play for the only team he's ever known for similar dollars he could get elsewhere, the team would likely welcome him back. Miller already being on board probably means that the Yankees don't have any intention of getting into a bidding war for Robertson, but being willing to give him four years, which seems like a necessary offer after Miller received four years, could very well keep them competitive in the negotiations.
Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York says that the Yankees aren't willing to match the offer the Astros gave Headley (though they don't seem to believe any such offer from Houston has actually been made), nor are they willing to give Robertson Jonathan Papelbon money. If either player is willing to take less than that to play in New York, great. If not, the team sounds ready to work with what they have. That might be alright in the bullpen, but third base without Headley is sort of a mess while operating under the assumption that Alex Rodriguez can't be anything close to a regular player in the field. If Martin Prado is forced to play third on an every day basis, that leaves second base open to one of Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela, and forces Carlos Beltran to stay in right field. Perhaps the Yankees are confident in that, but there's plenty of reason to worry about it coming to fruition.
Should the Yankees go four years for Headley and/or Robertson? What's the maximum deal they should offer either player?