Derek Jeter believed Robinson Cano would join him and Mariano Rivera as lifelong Yankees before Cano opted to sign with Seattle last week.
“I thought he would,” Jeter said. “I think a lot of people thought he would. But I don’t know all the details of what happened.”
Perhaps not, but the most significant detail was the 10-year, $240 million contract the Mariners offered, one the Yankees declined to come close to matching after offering $175 million over seven years.
Jeter didn’t try to convince Cano to stay, but said he spoke with him after the agreement was reached and the 31-year-old was pleased with his move out West — or at least one aspect of it.
“He’s happy,” Jeter said. “Wouldn’t you be happy? That’s a lot of money.”
And now Jeter and the Yankees look to life without Cano.
“I played with him for nine years, so he’s the second baseman I spent the most time with,” Jeter said before taking part in Steiner Sports’ “Core Four Meet & Greet” at Cipriani on Wall Street. “I’m going to miss him a lot. It’s a business on both sides and I wish him the best. I would have liked to have played with him longer.”
Replacing Cano is now just one of general manager Brian Cashman’s tasks this week at the Winter Meetings. Cashman has been busy putting a face-lift on the Yankees’ roster, bringing in Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran.
Jeter, who also re-upped for $12 million after the season, likes the additions.
“He’s done a lot,” Jeter said of Cashman’s efforts to avoid missing the postseason for a second straight season. “And they’ve been good ones.”
Whether they are enough to offset the loss of Cano remains to be seen.
Jeter wasn’t alone in presuming Cano would stay in The Bronx.
“You just thought some way, somehow, it would work out with Cano,” said the retired Andy Pettitte, who left the Yankees for Houston as a free agent following the 2003 season. “Obviously, Seattle anted up big-time. Big-time. When someone shows you they want you like that, in Robbie’s situation, it’s very flattering.”
And while in years past it would seem impossible for the Yankees to be outbid by the Mariners by as much as $65 million for their own player, even the retired Pettitte understands the Yankees’ current concerns.
“I know they’re trying to stay under that $189 million [luxury-tax threshold],” Pettitte said of ownership’s desire to reduce payroll next season. “And that’s a lot of money and a big commitment. Those kinds of contracts are tough and they had to make a decision.”
Mariano Rivera is also done playing, but like Pettitte, has been watching the Yankees’ offseason closely.
“Already, the team looks different,” said Rivera, whose “Coast to Coast Legends” Auction extends through Wednesday, with benefits going to the Mariano Rivera Foundation. “They have brought in some big guys, which is what you would expect them to do. You know they are going to keep going. And they have done good. But we need pitching.”