If the frugal Colorado Rockies can give their shortstop $20 million a season, the cash cow Yankees can do the same for Derek Jeter.
Troy Tulowitzki, 26, signed a contract extension yesterday that will take him through 2020. In five of those seasons, from 2015 through 2019, Tulowitzki will earn $20 million a season.
If the Rockies can invest in their future in that substantial way, the Yankees should do the same over the next three years for Jeter. That would be good business for all. Yes, Jeter will be 37 next season and Tulowitzki will not turn 36 until October 2020, but Jeter also has five more rings than Tulowitzki. That should count for something.
Jeter, though, needs to get real on the length of his contract. Three years is a perfect number. If Jeter is still producing at that point, the Yankees could always tack on a couple extra years.
If not, and Jeter is done after three more seasons, he can walk away with his head held high and move on to his next dream — baseball ownership. He can become part of the Rays ownership group and compete against the Yankees and Red Sox.
As it stands now, the Yankees have drawn a line in the sand with their three-year, $45 million offer. The two sides have resumed negotiations and the Tulowitzki deal should be a framework for both sides.
You can make the argument that Tulowitzki is essentially getting Jeter’s previous contract — a 10-year, $189 million pact — now and rightfully so because he is the face of the franchise, a winning player and a leader, just like No. 2. In 2020, when he will turn 36 soon after the season ends, he will be getting $14 million with escalators.
It’s all relative. Championships are worth their weight in gold even when you start to decline. You have to somehow factor in “The Jeter Effect” when thinking about this deal.
If that’s true and Tulowitzki is worth a baseline $14 million with $6 million in escalators at 35 in 2020, then you could argue Jeter is worth $20 million now, just for being Jeter. Like it or not, that’s how the “pay the aging face of the franchise” game is played.
Remember, Jeter has been the perfect Yankee. Sure, the Yankees have the hammer. Jeter is the golden nail, but they shouldn’t swing that hammer too hard. It would be smart for the Yankees not to let this get even more out of hand. No matter what the Yankees pay Jeter, that figure will be mentioned daily next season, especially if Jeter’s production continues to slip.
When you consider that Tulowitzki last season had an OPS of .949 and that Jeter’s OPS was .710, you begin to see the difference between the two shortstops. Of course, Tulowitzki bats in a hitter’s heaven. His OPS at Coors Field was 1.034 last season; on the road it was .863.
His career is on the rise. Jeter is an aging legacy shortstop with declining numbers.
The Yankees and Jeter are forever linked. Jeter is the Yankees. The Yankees are Jeter.
If the House of Steinbrenner pushes Jeter out the door, that will be a no-win situation for Hal, Hank and Brian Cashman. It would be the biggest public-relations disaster in Yankees history. These pinstripes would be forever stained.