The Yankees met with Robinson Cano this week and the two sides still seem to be very far apart in their contract demands. Cano is still seeking $310 million over ten years, while the Yankees have offered $170 million over seven. Until their demands come down, Randy Levine believes the Yankees have nothing more to talk about.
"As Hal [Steinbrenner] said, we have no interest in doing a 10-year deal, and we have no interest in paying any player over $300 million." While this is probably just more talk, it's good to see the Yankees don't plan to offer a contract near $300 million or 10 years. Hopefully they stick to that idea because it doesn't seem like anyone else is looking to come close to their demands.
"We have a list of five or six major free agents and we're engaged with all of them and we're not waiting around. The first guys who come off the board, those are the guys we're going to sign." The Yankees have already met with representatives for Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Shin-Soo Choo, who they could sign without needing a solution to the Cano problem. They have also been in contact with Omar Infante in case they ultimately can't re-sign Cano. It's good to know that the Yankees aren't sitting around and waiting on one player. They could get into a lot of trouble for waiting around too long.
"I'll be honest with you, I think the commitment we've already made to Robbie anticipates him being a leader and being the new face of the Yankees." With Derek Jeter's career coming to a close and Alex Rodriguez already sullied beyond saving, it's good to see the team is looking at Cano as the new face of the franchise. The Yankees would be a very boring team if they're unable to bring their All-Star second baseman back. $170 million isn't really "face-of-the-franchise-money" but it's certainly a start. Dustin Pedroia signed an eight-year, $180 million extension with the Red Sox and they still have David Ortiz and Jon Lester, the Yankees would really have no one else.
Ultimately, I think Cano will stay with the Yankees, but I think it will end up being around $200 million over eight years. The money is one thing, but the years under contract is another. The Yankees can't take on another 10-year deal, no matter what.
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