I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief now
that Mariano Rivera has decided he will return to the New York Yankees for at
least one more year.
In my heart, I know that the day will
come when Mo decides to hang up his spikes and go home to his family for good.
But I’m not quite ready for that so I anxiously awaited word about whether
Mariano would call it quits or come back to close games for the only team he
has ever played for.
All Brian Cashman was waiting for was Mo’s decision. Now that Mo has made that choice, Cashman has indicated that he and
Mariano’s agent will move quickly to finalize a new deal for the Yankees legendary
closer. Mo’s return from his devastating injury does not appear to be a major
obstacle as Joe Girardi & Co were pleased with the progress Mariano was
making in his rehab. Mo’s last contract negotiations also went so smoothly, they
were over before you could even blink, namely because Mariano, probably generous
to a fault, had no desire to squeeze every last dollar from the Yankees, even
though he had so much leverage over his team (including competing interest from the Boston Red Sox).
Mo’s return warms my heart, but Scott
Boras probably didn’t have the same feelings of joy when he heard the news.
Boras would have had tremendous leverage to negotiate a rich, multi-year deal
for his client Rafael Soriano had Mariano decided to retire. But the chances of
Soriano staying with the Yankees took a significant hit once Mo decided to come
back. Hal Steinbrenner seems determined to get to that $189 million payroll
threshold, which means he will not be able to pay both Rivera and Soriano
$14-$15 million each. He’s going to have to choose one and Cashman’s public eagerness
to work up a new deal for Mo tells me the Yankees have already made their choice.
Not that there’s much of a choice to be
made. Soriano filled in nicely and I wish him well, but there is only one
Mariano Rivera and he will be back where he belongs next year, on a mound for
the New York Yankees.
No comments:
Post a Comment