TAMPA — There is no question Derek Jeter is going to remain a Yankee beyond this year. Four years? Five years? $100 million? $130 million? More? Those are details that will arrive later, when time and necessity dictate.
The Yankees know what Jeter means to them, and to their fans. Jeter knows what the Yankees mean to him, to his legacy, to his place in history.
It is a marriage destined to continue, and one that should continue, especially if Jeter has a 2010 that resembles 2009, when one of the five best shortstops ever born had one of his finest offensive seasons, when he addressed his lacking defense and responded with as strong a season with the glove as anyone could have asked. Jeter is not LaDainian Tomlinson. He may have miles on his odometer, but his engine is still in prime condition. And still has prime years left.
But over the past couple of days, the Yankees have gotten a taste of what renewing those vows will really mean. Adeinis Hechavarria, a 21-year-old Cuban refugee who starred for his homeland’s junior team two years ago and defected to Mexico last year, was widely believed earmarked for the Yankees.
It made all the sense in the world: Hechavarria’s talents translate to $10 million, about $2 million more than the Red Sox gave Jose Iglesias, another Cuban defector. Hechavarria’s skills could easily translate to second base or center field, where the Yankees might have openings in the near future. And the Yankees . . . well, they are the Yankees. More often than not they get what — and whom — they want.
Only it doesn’t appear they are going to get Hechavarria.
Sunday, the Post’s George King, citing industry sources, reported that Hechavarria is all but assured of signing with the Blue Jays. Losing Hechavarria is hardly a gut-shot for the Yankees; whether he could withstand the rigors of major-league baseball and ever be Jeter’s true heir remains unanswered, and will for a few years. It’s why Hechavarria looked elsewhere that’s intriguing.
He doesn’t want to be a second baseman. He doesn’t want to be a center fielder.
He wants to be a shortstop.
And right now — and for the foreseeable future — the Yankees already have a shortstop.
Does any of this mean the Yankees should second-guess their position on Jeter? Of course not. Jeter is still in the thick of a Hall of Fame career. The contract he signs in the fall likely will be long enough that Jeter himself will have to morph from shortstop to either a left fielder or a full time designated hitter by the end of it. Still, Jeter has no fewer than two more seasons on top of this one when he will be among the majors’ best shortstops. You don’t just discard that, especially with an annual mandate of championship or bust.
And though scouts are high on Hechavarria, not all believe shortstop is his best position. The consensus is he would be a first-round player if he were exposed to the MLB Draft. And there is a long list of first-round players who never turned out to be Derek Jeter.
What this is, however, is a reminder of just what Jeter’s coming contract means. Forget the dollars; whatever the Yankees pay Jeter, they can afford it. No, it is all about time. Jeter will turn 36 on June 26. He will be at least 40, maybe older, by the end of his next deal. Maybe Hechavarria won’t blossom into the next Hanley Ramirez. But maybe the next Latin prospect will, or the one after that, prospects who also might not be inclined to wait for Jeter’s skills to erode.
Now, the Yankees aren’t likely to find themselves in the quandary the Orioles created for themselves not long ago by refusing to believe that Cal Ripken would ever get too old to play — or wanting to challenge in any way their most popular player. They’re too smart to do what the Mets did with Mike Piazza, refusing to come up with a smart succession plan that not only would have helped the Mets at catcher, but also might well have extended Piazza’s career as an effective offensive player.
The Yankees aren’t likely to be held hostage the way those teams were, and honestly weren’t held hostage here. It is still the right move to choose Jeter over a future uncertainty. It just won’t be forever.