The Yankees are fools and Robinson Cano is an “idiot.”
That was former Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni on WEEI when discussing the Yankees’ deal with Jacoby Ellsbury and the jam it puts Cano in.
The free-agent second baseman left agent Scott Boras, who represents Ellsbury, to sign with Jay Z’s fledgling Roc Nation during last season.
“You are Robinson Cano, one of the best players in the game, and you have the potential to make over $200 million, and you fire Scott Boras? Idiot! I mean, who the hell does that?” the outspoken Merloni said.
“You go with the best in the business, not a guy that sells records and says I got another guy that can work out the contract. He better get him a lot more money [than Boras got Ellsbury].”
Ellsbury agreed to a seven-year, $153 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday night. The Yankees are still the favorites to land Cano, but the Mariners have become a noted challenger. Merloni was not exactly fond of the Yankees’ decision to sign Ellsbury, who played the first seven years of his career with the Red Sox.
“If I am the Yankees, I’m almost cornered. How the hell can I tell my fan base that I’ve replaced Robinson Cano’s bat with Jacoby Ellsbury’s? You don’t want to go seven for 180 on Cano, but you want to give this guy seven and 153?” Merloni said.
“To me, this is an impact player. This guy [Cano] is a $20 million [a year] player. You may not want to go 10 years or $300 million, but that’s the guy you give 20 a year.”