The specifics for the Yankees' new deal with Brendan Ryan have been released. Are you sitting down? Ryan has been locked up for the 2014 and 2015 seasons and will also have a mutual option for 2016. He makes $5 million through the first two years and, along with incentives, will earn a total of $10 million if the option is picked up.
At first glance this is an awful lot to give to someone who is valued only for their glove, however, mutual options are hardly ever picked up, and if they are, it means both sides are getting good value. What this basically proves is that the Yankees have probably given up on Eduardo Nunez at this point and have a backup plan at shortstop, not only this season, but also for 2015 if this proves to be Derek Jeter's last year. If they can't find another shortstop then at least they have one of the best defensive shortstops in the game as a fallback.
Unfortunately, Ryan also had his worst defensive season in years, so if the 32-year-old loses a step in 2014, he'll have considerably less value throughout the remainder of the contract. Plus Ryan's bat has absolutely no value to begin with. It's a lot to give to someone like him. There was no real reason to give him so much upfront, but it's not necessarily a "bad" deal. It means you don't have to see Nunez or Jayson Nix at short. Just close your eyes when he's up at the plate.
