With Robinson Cano and his $240 million contract off to Seattle, the Yankees continued the business of dealing with life without the second baseman.
On Friday, that meant introducing their own free-agent signing, Jacoby Ellsbury, at Yankee Stadium.
“Jacoby, you are going to make my job a lot easier,” manager Joe Girardi said. “You no longer are a thorn in my side. You are a flower in our clubhouse, and I’m happy to have you.”
It’s a move that doesn’t come without risk.
The Yankees inked Ellsbury to a seven-year deal for $153 million, with an option for an eighth season, despite the center fielder having dealt with significant injuries that robbed him of much of the 2010 and 2012 seasons, as well as a fractured right foot that hampered him during the latter part of Boston’s 2013 World Series run.
“It’s just two unfortunate things,” Ellsbury said, referring to his 2010 collision with Adrian Beltre that resulted in four fractured ribs and his attempt to break up a double play two years later that caused an injured shoulder. “They were freak accidents that healed. Other than that, I’ve been good.”
This past postseason, he remained productive despite playing with a fractured foot he suffered when he fouled a ball off it in August.
“The foot’s good now,” Ellsbury said following the introductory press conference. “I wasn’t going to miss any time [in the playoffs] no matter how it felt.”
He said he is confident he will remain healthy throughout the length of the contract despite having been hurt before.
“I play the game hard, I feel like the right way,” Ellsbury said. “I give everything I have.”
General manager Brian Cashman, though, admitted he considered Ellsbury’s previous injuries before offering him the deal.
“I wouldn’t dismiss it,” Cashman said. “When he’s on the field, he’s a difference-maker. … I understand that is part of his history. There are no guarantees moving forward.”
Especially with a 30-year-old player whose game is largely predicated on speed.
“We talked about it,” Cashman said. “We experienced it with Bernie [Williams] and Johnny Damon. They’re all fair questions and tough decisions to make.”
The reason Cashman opted to take a chance on Ellsbury was simple: “Because he’s one hell of a player.”
Cashman added the lack of any progress in negotiations with Cano throughout the season motivated the Yankees to move quickly.
“We tried to take him off the board as early as we could, especially with the feeling of how the conversations with Robbie Cano were going, we’d better start moving on some things because Robbie’s not going to be here,” Cashman said. “To move early, you have to step up and move yourself from the pack. I think it would be harder for us if Robbie moved [to Seattle] before we had a player like Jacoby in the fold.”
Now, Ellsbury will join Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran as veteran bats who will try to make up for Cano’s absence in the lineup, with vows of more moves to come.
“No matter what deal you’re doing, at I’d say $100 million or more, they’re partnerships,” Cashman said. “We’ve invested heavily in him, but we’ll be investing in others, too. There’s always a risk, but you take the risk for the reward.”
After helping the Red Sox capture a pair of World Series titles, Ellsbury isn’t worried about the spotlight of playing for the Yankees.
“The biggest thing I’ve always enjoyed is the expectation of winning,” Ellsbury said. “We had that in Boston and we have that in New York.”
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he liked the direction in which the team was going.
“They’re grinders and you can’t have enough grinders,” Steinbrenner said.
Expensive grinders, at that.
When asked if they would be enough to replace Cano, Steinbrenner said: “We’ll find out.”