After taking numbers and parameters back to their respective corners, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi’s agent are scheduled to talk again Friday as the two sides try to strike a deal to retain the manager.
With both sides seemingly eager to reach an agreement, the uncertainty surrounding Girardi’s future could be cleared up soon.
Cashman presented Girardi’s requests to team owner Hal Steinbrenner Thursday following the GM’s meeting with agent Steve Mandell on Wednesday.
The Yankees have not been shy about their desire to bring Girardi back to The Bronx, and while the manager would become a free agent when his contract expires Nov. 1, he has said repeatedly he wanted to sort out his future quickly.
Girardi said before the Yankees’ season ended in Houston last weekend that money would not play a role in his decision, but the team is prepared to give him a raise over his current three-year, $9 million deal in order to avoid letting him hit the open market.
In order to keep Girardi around without letting him interview for other jobs once his contract runs out, the Yankees undoubtedly will have to give him a raise — putting him even closer to the top of the list of highest-paid managers.
It’s unclear what Girardi would do if he is unable to come to an agreement with the Yankees. While it had been thought the now-vacant Cubs managerial job would appeal to the Illinois native and former Cubs player, Girardi seemed to distance himself from his Chicago connections last week, saying he no longer had many ties to the area.
The loss of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, as well as ownership’s desire to cut payroll to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold next season, will have “very little” to do with Girardi’s decision, the manager said.
“There’s no challenge that really scares me, that I would ever shy away from,” Girardi said in Houston last week. “So that has very little impact on [my decision] whatsoever.”