Robinson Cano is the best second baseman in baseball and the New York Yankees desperately want to sign him, but after giving $275 million to Alex Rodriguez, the team finds itself in a very tough situation with Cano's free agency looming, as he will command over $200 million in his deal and they may not want to commit to that again.
The Yankees put themselves in an awful situation and now they may not want to pay $200 million, but they also want to keep the player they brought up through their farm system, giving them a Catch-22, as they want to keep the potential Hall of Famer, but the money may be a factor, even for the Yankees. Cano signed with Jay Z and cut out Scott Boras, which is a good sign, but that doesn't mean he will come on the cheap. Jay Z and his company will try to get top dollar for Cano, but the Yankees may not want to do that again, especially since they will have to keep paying A-Rod depending on his suspension and that makes the Dodgers, Angels, Texas Rangers, Giants and Detroit Tigers and even the Boston Red Sox players for his services.
There are a number of solid players out there in free agency, including Nelson Cruz and Jacoby Ellsbury, but the Yankees want to keep the player they developed themselves. Cano is a superstar and he is hitting .305 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIS this season and while his father said that he thinks his son will stay with the Yankees, it doesn't mean that will happen and ESPN.com already reported the Dodgers, Cubs and Phillies may go after him.
Cano will be 31 in October and he has hit just three home runs since July 16 and while the Yankees very much want to keep him, it likely will cost at least $200 million and that could stop them from signing free agents again for the next few years. The Yankees are in an awful position, because they know they need to keep him, but they know they can't keep spending like psychos on players that will be getting older. Cano will be in his late 30s by the time the contract is done and look how that has worked for A-Rod.
Brian Cashman has some thoughts to figure out.
