HOUSTON — Robinson Cano was visited by visions of Yankees future Thursday night.
For seven innings, in a comatose ballpark, he saw a preview of what could be the next few years if he sticks around, a non-contender, playing before dispassionate fans with sketchy talent.
And then for two innings, he saw a different, seductive coming attraction of what is possible if he re-signs. He will never have the place in the fans’ hearts that Mariano Rivera has. There is not the same connection, not the same history, not as many championships.
But if Cano does sign a long-term deal to stay this winter, he puts himself in position to get what even $310 million cannot purchase — a place in the pinstripe pantheon. He is on a trajectory to become the second Yankee to ever reach 3,000 hits. General manager Brian Cashman already has touted Cano’s Hall-of-Fame path.
He has a chance to become a forever Yankee, which carries all kinds of late-career love and post-career inducements. None of which is possible for, say, Texas Ranger Robinson Cano.
“There is a lot that money can’t buy,” Cano said. “When Mo was a free agent, if he went somewhere else, then what happened [Thursday] could not have happened for him. But you have to understand that this is a business. The Yankees are going to do what is best for them, and I am going to do what is best for me and my family.”
That latter part has been the Cano mantra, and he has been incredibly disciplined this year at limiting his comments about free agency and dispassionately offering the business lines.
My suspicion remains Cano very much wants to remain a Yankee, but that this is a script his representatives have handed him. That you have to project that you will leave, that you will make cold business decisions to coerce the Yankees to bid more and more. This is not Derek Jeter trying to play hardball, but also saying in his last negotiation he couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.
Of course, Jeter knew it would be foolish to even suggest that. It was understood he wasn’t leaving, and the Yankees wouldn’t let him leave.
There is at least that possibility with Cano. He is not quite as tethered to the organization and vice versa. You can close your eyes and imagine Cano in another uniform. You can imagine the Yankees leaking a final offer — say, seven years at $175 million — as a way to show their fans there was real effort and then moving on.
Nevertheless, the offseason will begin with team and player seemingly wanting to find a way to extend the marriage. In fact, Cano talked in a more passionate way about the Yankees with me before Friday night’s game than I can remember at any time this season.
“Of course, you think about that [playing in one place your whole career and getting all that comes with that],” Cano said. “I love this organization and the way that I have been treated and the way the fans have been so good to me. I just want to step back and be a free agent, sit with my family and make a good decision. There is no rush. There is no decision yet, leaving or staying. But I love this organization and the fans, and I really can’t ask for more from both.”
Or maybe he can. The expectation always has been the Yankees would always make championship-or-bust decisions. But Cano sees the crumbling roster, knows what is in the wind. The organization is not only trying to hold the line with him, drawing a defiant line in the sand that they are out of the 10-year contract game. The Yankees plan to get under $189 million in payroll next season.
It means they will have talent, but perhaps not quite as much as we all have come to expect. The differentiation from other organizations will not be there. In fact, it is not hard to imagine more third- and fourth-place finishes in the next few years than first and second. Does Cano want to be the face of that transition and, perhaps, a playoff desert?
In the past, the Yankees could convince players the cash and the grass are always not greener elsewhere. Now they might actually be outbid for a homegrown player in his prime and not be able to sell no-doubt contention.
“I haven’t sat down and thought about the future of the team and what is going to happen to the team,” Cano said. “I am going to have a lot of time for that. For now, I am going to enjoy the last three days with [Andy] Pettitte and Mo.”
Great Yankees retire as Yankees this weekend. How much would being able to do the same be worth to Cano?