Monday, September 30, 2013

Yankees May Have to Say No to Cano

Rumors have been circulating about Robinson Cano and the new contract he may be seeking. The almost 31 year old Cano is a free agent and is reportedly seeking a contact of ten years and roughly $300 million. Although Cano denies these rumors, his representation of CAA and Jay-Z have reason to push the Yankees for the monster deal.

Robinson Cano has had a very productive career. He has a career batting average of .309 and has averaged 107 RBIs in the past four seasons. Although impressive statistics, alone they would not warrant a $300 million contract. The current state of the Yankees gives Robinson Cano the best chance of getting a mega deal. The Yankees are saying goodbye to legend Mariano Rivera and long time Yankee Andy Pettitte this season. The Yankees are also dealing with the Alex Rodriguez situation which currently is in arbitration.

All these factors make for a Yankee organization that is desperate to keep the brand of high profile players that they have become known for. The problem for the Yankees is they have had to learn a difficult lesson about long term big money contracts. Before the 2008 season, the Yankees made Alex Rodriguez the richest player in the history of the league by giving him a ten year contract worth $275 million. With Rodriguez's current on field production (or lack there of) and his off the field issues it is likely that the Yankees are regretting the enormous contract they gave him.

Final Thought
It has been rumored that the Yankees have offered Cano an eight year contract worth $138 million and a six year contract worth $144 million. Either of these contracts would make Cano the highest paid second baseman in baseball. I think the contacts offered by the Yankees are risky considering the age of Cano. Hal Steinbrenner has said that he wants the Yankee payroll to be $189 million or less for the 2014 season. Good luck. It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do. If they give in to Cano's request they may be making a long term mistake (again).



@dmrosen7

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