Here is a question Robinson Cano and his advisors have to at least take into consideration as they attempt to find common ground with the Yankees:
What happens if the Yankees spend their dollars elsewhere and they are no longer in the market for the five-time All Star?
While the belief around the major leagues is Cano and the Yankees eventually will agree to a multi-year deal that will make the 31-year-old second baseman among the game’s highest paid players, it appears it will be more on the Yankees’ terms than Cano’s.
“If [Cano’s people] plan is to get eight or nine years at $200 million, that’s not happening,’’ said an industry source with knowledge of the Yankees’ thinking.
Last Tuesday in a face-to-face meeting with club president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman, Cano’s agents Brodie Van Wagenen and Juan Perez requested a nine-year deal for between $250 and $260 million and a vesting option in the area of $30 million for the 10th year. The Yankees stuck to their original seven-year pact for about $160 million.
Wednesday the sides chatted by phone, but the gap wasn’t narrowed. Initially, they planned to resume conversations Monday, but if they converse it will be by phone since a sit-down hasn’t been scheduled.
Because the market for Cano has been extremely slow, at least publicly, outside of The Bronx, and the Yankees have not been shy about their interest in Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Hiroki Kuroda and Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, there is a chance the Yankees will have spent their allotted free-agency money and won’t have anything left for Cano.
Seattle is thought to be a dark horse-team for Cano, but the Mariners don’t figure to contend in the AL West with or without Cano. Since Cano left Scott Boras for Jay Z because he believed the mega entertainment star but neophyte agent could help him grow a brand away from baseball, it’s difficult to believe Cano had Seattle in mind.
The Yankees can use Dustin Pedroia’s eight-year deal for $110 million that starts next season and David Wright’s eight-year contract worth $138 million that began this past season as comparables and say their seven-year offer for $160 million ($22.9 million per year) is solid.
While Cano’s productive bat and Gold Glove defense would be missed, the Yankees have been in touch with free-agent second baseman Omar Infante’s representatives. Infante is the second-best free-agent second baseman. In early November, the Yankees contacted the Reds to find out their thoughts about dealing second baseman Brandon Phillips.
The Yankees have already spent $85 million across five years for free-agent catcher Brian McCann. The deal will become official when the left-handed hitter passes a physical. He is expected to take the physical Monday or Tuesday.
Among free-agent outfielders, Beltran is the Yankees’ main target, but he has to have the same fears the Yankees could leave him at the gate like Cano. They have been seriously talking to Boras, who represents Choo and Ellsbury.
Beltran, 37 in April, is seeking a three-year deal in excess of $14 million a year and the Yankees want to limit it to two years.