ORLANDO, Fla. — In a meeting in Tampa last week, Yankees officials did the requisite lap of respect with Derek Jeter. They honored his place in organization history, his meaning to the fan base and his legacy on and off the field.
But once the admiration portion of the program was complete, Yankee officials also made sure to tell Jeter it is their intention to offer him a baseball contract. Period.
GM Brian Cashman would not discuss the particulars of that meeting, saying, “In fairness to the process, I am not talking about [the negotiations] it in any way.”
But confidants of Cashman said the GM is determined not to have the team get so lost in the past that it destroys the future by giving Jeter a contract that either lasts way beyond his effectiveness and/or overpays him to such a degree that hurts financial flexibility elsewhere.
That is why, the confidants say, Cashman decided to have a face-to-face, turning-the-page meeting with Jorge Posada in Manhattan to tell the longtime catcher that the plan is to go with youngsters behind the plate and that Posada is now viewed as a DH. And it is why, the confidants say, he essentially played bad cop with Posada’s pal, Jeter, at a meeting that also was attended by Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine and Jeter’s agent, Casey Close.
Cashman detailed the organization’s long-term concerns about where Jeter’s offense and defense may be going. The Yankees are willing to add some dollars beyond what they see as strictly Jeter’s on-field value to honor his status as an icon.
Clearly, though, he Jeter camp wants him treated in a grander way considering all that he has meant for the organization, say, compared to Alex Rodriguez, who was signed to a 10-year contract through his age-42 season. To be signed for just as long, Jeter would have to get a six-year contract, which the Yankees are iron-willed against. The Yankees probably prefer a two- or three-year deal with a pay cut from the $18.9 million Jeter averaged on his just-concluded 10-year, contract.
This is the crux of the slow movement on the Jeter negotiations. The sides agreed to reconnect later this week after the GM Meetings. But unless there is a softening on either side, we could be a few chapters into one of the most interesting games of contract chicken in history.
The Jeter camp knows, for example, that the Yankees buckled after the 2007 season, stating unequivocally that they were done negotiating with A-Rod and then relenting and signing him to a record 10-year, $275 million deal. But the emotional Hank Steinbrenner was very involved then and is not now. Plus, Hal Steinbrenner still had his training wheels on as far as replacing his father, George, as the day-to-day decision maker. Hal is more seasoned now, and projects a bean-counter coolness even in dealing with the face of the franchise in Jeter.
If the sides are not able to bridge the gap Jeter, faces soliciting outside offers, which is fascinating because:
Say the Yanks offer Jeter a three-year, $45 million deal, does any other team come close to topping that for a shortstop who will be 37 in June, has range issues and is coming off his worst offensive season? Does any other team even offer two years at $30 million? Even if they do, would Jeter leave for a few marginal dollars more? Would the Yankees raise their offer? Does Jeter want to risk the embarrassment of not getting sizeable offers elsewhere or, perhaps, give off a whiff of greed that could hurt him with his corporate partners? Or does it hurt the Yankees with their most loyal fans if it appears they are nickel-and-diming Jeter when they did not do that with, say, A.J. Burnett.
The sense among baseball officials are the sides need each other and see the downside of muddying up the other side in negotiations. But the third week of November has begun, and Derek Jeter remains a free agent.
joel.sherman@nypost.com