MLB

Girardi re-signs, but worries Yankees won’t have Cano

Joe Girardi got the fourth year he wanted and $16 million from the Yankees on Wednesday. His family is on board with him managing the Yankees, a must for Girardi to continue working for a club that many believe is in decline.

What Girardi doesn’t have is a lot of confidence Robinson Cano, easily the Yankees’ best player, will be batting third and playing second base wearing pinstripes in 2014.

“I will definitely talk to Brian [Cashman] and Hal [Steinbrenner] and talk about [Cano’s] importance to our lineup, but I have always said we have seen crazy things happen and it takes two to tango,’’ Girardi said on a conference call. “It’s a matter of a player wanting to come back and it’s a matter of the contract working out for all parties involved.’’

Watching Albert Pujols leave St. Louis for Anaheim left an impression on Girardi.

“I can bring up a man like Albert Pujols, who I thought we would see him retire as a St. Louis Cardinal, and that is not going to happen,’’ Girardi said of the Cardinals legend, who signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels after the 2011 season. “There have been a lot of players you thought would retire in a certain uniform and sometimes that doesn’t happen.’’

With Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera retired, legitimate questions about Derek Jeter’s legs, Alex Rodriguez possibly missing next season because of suspension and the minor league system not producing impact major leaguers, Girardi understands what Cano means to the Yankees.

“He has been very important to our club over the past seven or eight years and if he comes back, he will continue to be important,’’ Girardi said.

Cano has asked for a 10-year deal worth $310 million that the Yankees have no interest in. They would prefer something in the seven-year, $160 million range.

Always the optimist, Girardi said after his family members decided they liked their father and husband managing in The Bronx, the warts on the Yankees’ skin weren’t enough to chase him away.

“I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t think we could win a championship,’’ said Girardi, who guided the Yankees to a World Series title in 2009 as well as managing teams in 2008 and 2013 that didn’t make the postseason. “I know there is a lot of work to be done and I know there are a lot of holes that we have to fill, but I have faith in our organization.’’

Girardi, who is a major-league best 564-404 since 2008 as the Yankees’ manager, previously signed two three-year deals. So why was this one, which includes bonuses, for four?

“That was something we brought up to them,’’ Girardi said of the fourth year, something the Cubs, if they had the chance to get to Girardi, would have easily done. “It’s more stability of all of us involved in my household and it was something we threw out at them and they were OK with it.’’

According to Cashman, Girardi opened negotiations by asking for a fourth year.

“That was something requested from Joe from Day 1,’’ the GM said. “We were comfortable doing that.’’

At $4 million per season, Girardi is near the top of the manager’s pay scale. The Angels’ Mike Scioscia earns $5 million a year and is working on a 10-year deal signed in 2009, but it isn’t fully guaranteed.

As for Girardi possibly leaving for the Cubs, the Yankees took it seriously after the Cubs asked for and were denied permission to talk to him.

Girardi said Chicago will always be special for him since he grew up in Illinois, went to Wrigley Field as a kid with his father and dreamed of playing for the Cubs, which he did. But Westchester is home for him and the family.

Now the biggest question in Girardi’s mind has to be where Cano will call home on Opening Day. If Cano is elsewhere, the toughest job in sports will be significantly more difficult.