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Many of you will know Caitlin as the former CAyankeesfan, long time Pinstripe Alley regular. She makes her front page debut tonight and we are all very excited to have her. I hope you all will be too. -Tanya
As you have probably heard by now, Robinson Cano has agreed to a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners, pending a physical next week. One of the questions that Yankee fans will presumably be grappling with is whether the Yankees should have offered him more money or even matched Seattle's offer.
Cano is coming off of a 2013 season where he hit .314/.383/.516 with 27 homeruns. He was undoubtedly one of the bright spots in a season riddled with injuries and DL stints by most of the position players. According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees final offer to Cano was for seven years, $175 million. Cano reportedly asked the Yankees for $235 million to stay, and the Yankees counter-offer was to increase their offer from $170 to $175.
Given that the Yankees just signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a contract worth seven years and $153 million, it seems justified that Cano would seek an offer in the range of $200. I, for one, would feel a lot better just knowing that the Yankees did offer Cano 8/200. Would he have turned it down in favor of Seattle's $240? Probably. It just feels like an insult for the Yankees not to have offered him significantly more after they just paid so much for Ellsbury. While Ellsbury is a speedy outfielder, coming off of a season where he hit .298/.355/.426 and nine homeruns, he has also spent a significant number of time on the DL, and it remains to be seen whether he can reproduce the red hot 2011 where he hit 32 homeruns. Considering that there were other, less expensive outfield options on the market, but the Yankees went with Ellsbury anyways, it seems as though the Yankees ARE willing to both: spend a ton of money this off season, and overpay players. It seems odd that they wouldn't have offered Cano significantly more than Ellsbury, especially since he is a homegrown Yankee, one of the best active second basemen, and has never been plagued by injuries (since 2007, he has played 159 or more games every season).
Should the Yankees have matched Seattle's offer of 10/240? I think that most of us would say no. The contract with Seattle will have Cano signed through his age 41 season. A 10-year contract for any player in their 30s is hard to argue for. After A-Rod's 10-year contract worth $275, coupled with his boatload of injuries, all the time he has missed, and his decline in performance, I am relieved that the Yankees did not dish out another 10-year contract. At least now there is plenty of money left that can be spent elsewhere, regardless of whether Plan 189 is still in play.
If you were the Yankees, would you have offered Cano 8/200 and then called it a day? Do you think that their decision to remain firm in 7/175 was the right call? Or do you think they should have matched Seattle's 10 year, $240 million deal?
