The New York Yankees are firmly sticking to the team policy of not negotiating with baseball players until their contracts expire, even if they are part of the team's core. Brian Cashman made it clear that he has no intention of departing from that policy for future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
Cashman is apparently concerned about potential disruptions in the team's relationships with its players, observing that if he started negotiating a contract with Jeter, he couldn't justify not talking to Mo about a deal. Cashman also noted that both manager Joe Girardi and Andy Pettitte are on their walk years too (although Pettitte always considers retirement in the offseason). But Jeter and Mo aren't just any players, they are playoff stars and living Yankee legends, even as their careers continue.
The Yankees general manager didn't sound like he was expecting any trouble re-signing Jeter, rightly noting that Jeter wants to stay with the Yanks and that the team wants him back. It's important to Jeter to remain a lifetime Yankee given that all he ever wanted to do growing up was play shortstop for the Bronx Bombers. It's probably equally as important to Mo. He did speculate about signing with another team during his last contract negotiations, but that might have been a negotiating ploy or some residual upset feelings about Joe Torre being pushed out as manager.
Whatever the reasons, the Yankees will eventually have to re-sign both Jeter and Mo. The possibility of a Yankees team without either one of them is unthinkable.
Cashman is apparently concerned about potential disruptions in the team's relationships with its players, observing that if he started negotiating a contract with Jeter, he couldn't justify not talking to Mo about a deal. Cashman also noted that both manager Joe Girardi and Andy Pettitte are on their walk years too (although Pettitte always considers retirement in the offseason). But Jeter and Mo aren't just any players, they are playoff stars and living Yankee legends, even as their careers continue.
The Yankees general manager didn't sound like he was expecting any trouble re-signing Jeter, rightly noting that Jeter wants to stay with the Yanks and that the team wants him back. It's important to Jeter to remain a lifetime Yankee given that all he ever wanted to do growing up was play shortstop for the Bronx Bombers. It's probably equally as important to Mo. He did speculate about signing with another team during his last contract negotiations, but that might have been a negotiating ploy or some residual upset feelings about Joe Torre being pushed out as manager.
Whatever the reasons, the Yankees will eventually have to re-sign both Jeter and Mo. The possibility of a Yankees team without either one of them is unthinkable.
Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment