HOUSTON — A day after sources said Robinson Cano was looking for more than $300 million over 10 years in his upcoming contract, the second baseman continued to deflect questions about his future.
“I know what we’re doing and what we’re not doing,” Cano said before Friday night’s game against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. “I don’t listen to anybody else.”
He insisted the $310 million number hadn’t been leaked by his camp.
When asked why he thought the Yankees had floated the number, Cano said: “I didn’t say which side said what. I just said it wasn’t my side.”
The Yankees, according to sources, countered Cano’s request with an offer in the $160 million range.
Whether the two sides can come to a middle ground will go a long way in determining the team’s future for the coming years.
“It’s still the same since spring training,” Cano said. “I’m going to wait for the right time, especially with [Thursday] night, seeing [Mariano Rivera] pitch at the Stadium one last time and now with Andy [Pettitte] pitching his last game. There are a lot of good things happening and I just want to enjoy that.”
He refused to give any clues about which way he may be leaning or whether Sunday could be his last game as a Yankee, when the season comes to a close.
“Honestly, people are going to say a source or a friend said something or whatever,” Cano said. “I just ignore it. They are little things and don’t affect me.”
Cano also insisted he hadn’t sought much insight from his more experienced teammates about how he should approach free agency during the season.
“I really haven’t asked anybody,” Cano said. “This team was trying to make the playoffs and I wasn’t going to think about next year.”
But that could change with the Yankees now officially eliminated from the postseason and spending the weekend playing the last-place Astros.
“I might get some advice from some guys and go from there,” Cano said.
Cano left longtime agent Scott Boras earlier this year for Jay Z’s new agency and veteran player agent Brodie Van Wagenen.
While some observers took the switch as a sign Cano was more willing to stay with the Yankees, this is also the first high-profile contract Jay Z’s agency will negotiate, and it likely does not want to set a precedent by offering a hometown discount with its first major client.
The Yankees will be wrestling with the need to replace some of the departing star power of Rivera and Pettitte, as well as the fact Derek Jeter figures to be nearing the end of his career and the reality they want to get payroll under the $189 million threshold for 2014.
The matter doesn’t figure to be settled anytime soon and Cano seemed intent on not letting his hand show Friday, as he reiterated what he said Wednesday in The Bronx about his feelings regarding the Yankees.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love this organization,” Cano said. “I love the Yankee fans. I just have to get ready for today and then think about everything after the season.”