Robinson Cano isn’t the only free-agent slugger the Yankees will try to bring back in 2014.
Curtis Granderson, coming off an injury-marred season, is set to hit the market and his agent made it clear Granderson wants to remain in The Bronx.
“That’s his first choice,” agent Matt Brown said Wednesday. “He absolutely wants to stay there.”
Granderson has been one of the game’s best power hitters, but was limited to 61 games last season after being sidelined with a broken right forearm suffered when he was hit by a pitch during his first at-bat of spring training. Just 10 days after his return, he was knocked out again. This time, another pitch fractured his left pinky.
The extended layoffs could impact how much money he gets and Brown admitted “there’s no getting around missing 100 games the year you’re becoming a free agent isn’t great.”
The Yankees could make Granderson a qualifying offer, which would be worth slightly less than $14 million and represent a cut of just over $1 million from what Granderson made this year.
“It looks like we’re probably headed down that road,” Brown said. “But I think people remember what he did the previous two years.”
Granderson, who hit a combined 84 homers in 2011-12, could test the market and see how much interest there is in him on a multi-year deal, especially after Hunter Pence got a five-year, $90 million contract from the Giants.
While one scout said a shortage of power bats on the market will make Granderson particularly sought after, another scout wondered how his home run total would be affected with a move away from Yankee Stadium and its short right-field porch.
According to people familiar with their thinking, the Red Sox and Rangers could be potential landing spots, depending on how the offseason shapes up.
No one seems overly concerned about Granderson’s injuries from this past season, since the 32-year-old seemed to be more a victim of bad luck than someone who is breaking down.
Though Brown said Granderson “loves” playing for Joe Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long, his desire to remain with the Yankees isn’t based on them sticking around.
He also said Granderson wasn’t bothered by being moved out of center field by Brett Gardner or to DH because Alfonso Soriano preferred playing left field.
“He’d rather play center or certainly the outfield every day,” Brown said. “But he understands why they did it.”