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The Yankees have signed Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million contract with a vesting option for a sixth that will push the deal to $100 million. That's a lot, especially for a catcher. The team has a lot more needs to fill up and no one knows how much money the Yankees will be looking to spend. Chief among their needs is re-signing Robinson Cano. Or not.
It was reported in the offseason that the Yankees could go on a $300 million spending spree this winter in an attempt to get back into contention. If that's true, then they still have a lot of money to spread around. $200 million is a lot of money to fill a roster with what the Yankees need.
Spending $18 million a year on a catcher likely means they could be out on free agents like Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, as they don't need a $20-25 million solution in the outfield. It would prevent them from addressing areas of bigger concern, like the left side of the infield and second base. It's also completely possible the Yankees are going to throw out Plan 189 at this point.
Whatever happens with Cano, the McCann deal ensures that the Yankees aren't signing him to anything close to $300 million. He was really never going to get that, but this is your confirmation. If the budget is unlocked, then it will let them to sign Cano to a contract at around $200 million and still allow them to address everything else they need.
Remember, after missing the playoffs in 2008, they went out and signed CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira at a total of $423.5 million between just the three of them. It's not completely crazy for the Yankees to sign McCann at $100 million, Cano $200 million and then pay for another player or two, because it could still end up being less than what they spent five years ago.
The truth is that we don't know what Cano could still get. The market has yet to appear for the All-Star second baseman, so the Yankees are going about their business and signing who they have to. Showing Cano that they're not waiting around for him to drop his ridiculous asking price puts the power in the Yankees' hands. It shows that they're ready to do what needs to be done, with or without him, so if he still wants to be a Yankee, he's going to have to get on board before they spend all the money. The more the Yankees spend, the less they will have to give him. He should drop his price before the Yankees end up signing Carlos Beltran or someone.