Within the next 48 hours, the Yankees are expected to make new contract offers to two of their biggest free agents.
The Yankees’ exclusivity period with both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera ends after tomorrow, and yesterday Hank Steinbrenner reiterated that new proposals to Posada and Rivera will be submitted before the period expires.
The players’ current offers are comparable. Rivera will be offered a three-year pact for $39 million, while Posada’s offer will be for approximately three years and $40 million.
Earlier in the week, Steinbrenner told The Post the Yanks would be offering Posada and Rivera big deals.
At the time, Steinbrenner said, “These are going to be substantial offers. We are not going to short-change these guys. I think we have a great chance to get back who we want back.”
Steinbrenner also said there is no further indication on the future of Andy Pettitte, another key Yankee free agent who might retire.
On Friday, former Yankee manager Joe Torre said Pettitte was “leaning toward staying home.”
“There’s been nothing new,” Steinbrenner said. “To say we want [Pettitte] back and hope he decides to come back for one more year would be an understatement. But we’re going to give him all the time that he needs to decide, and there’s no rush.”
*
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones is a bit baffled by David Wright winning the NL Gold Glove.
“When I find out [Wright won] I was speechless, for quite some time,” Jones said. “Certainly the guys with the least amount of errors and best fielding percentage quite obviously didn’t win it.”The report also quoted Jones as saying, “I wouldn’t have been disappointed had someone like [Pedro] Feliz or [Aramis] Ramirez won it. I’m a little confused by the final tally – that’s a head-scratcher for me.”
Wright wasn’t exactly devastated by Jones’ comments. While talking to The Post yesterday, the Mets’ third baseman said he paid no attention to Jones’ remarks.
“Chipper Jones plays for the Braves,” Wright said. “Honestly I could care less. I respect what Chipper does in this game. I respect Chipper as a player. But what he says to the papers doesn’t mean anything to me personally.
“I don’t take anything he says to heart. Obviously I think I can be better defensively. There’s no doubt about it. But I have a Gold Glove, and that’s the bottom line, and that’s something I’m very proud of, and I feel like I’m getting better and better defensively, and obviously managers and coaches have seen that.”