Yankee fans might want to make sure they watch the team's remaining games in order to say goodbye to one of their most beloved stars, and we don't mean Mariano Rivera. ESPN is reporting that second baseman Robinson Cano is looking for a 10 year, $305 million contract and that may be far more than the Yankees are looking to spend.
If Cano gets the contract that he is asking for it would be the largest deal in Major League Baseball history; even bigger than the deal the Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez in 2007. That deal, which the Yankees are doing everything they can to get out of the final four years of, was worth $275 million.
A source told the New York Daily News that when the Yankees were negotiating with Cano during the season the offer they gave them was worth far less than what the All-Star is seeking; the Yankees were prepared to pay Cano $138 million over eight years.
That is a pretty huge gap to overcome and from comments Cano made it sounds like he is willing to wait a while before signing.
"If we don't make it to the playoffs, I want to take my time, go on vacation and relax," Cano said. "Then I want to sit down with my family and decide what we gonna do."
Cano may have a very difficult time getting a deal of that magnitude from any team for two major reasons; it is so much more money than any other second basemen and teams are trying to avoid 10 year deals.
The most comparable second basemen to Cano, Red Sox second basemen and former MVP Dustin Pedroia, signed a deal that will pay him $110 million over eight years earlier this season. Admittedly, Pedroia gave the Sox a bit of a hometown discount on the deal, but the gap between that deal and what Cano is seeking is humongous.
Teams are also starting to sour on long-term deals in recent years. While players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens started to convince teams to hand out contracts that ran into a player's 40s it eventually became clear their longevity may have been aided by performance enhancing drugs. Now teams seem willing to spend a bit more in order to keep deals shorter.
Of the four most notable 10-year contracts signed recently two are arguably huge failures; Rodriguez's contract has been an anchor around the neck of the Yankees all season long and lead to rumors they were hoping he would be suspended. It can also be argued that the 10-year, $240 million deal that the Angels gave to Albert Pujols is already a mistake despite only being two years old; Pujols has been markedly worse in every offensive category since moving to Los Angeles, according to ESPN.
If Cano ends up leaving the Bronx to go to the highest bidder, the Dodgers perhaps, comments he made on Wednesday made it sound like he was at peace with that possibility.
"Who knows what's going to happen?" Cano told ESPN. "I'm just enjoying being here, and I'm going to enjoy the last day, being here with all these guys. Nobody said I'm leaving; nobody said I'm staying. I haven't decided anything yet. Let's see what happens after the World Series."
