I know nobody wants to talk about this but.....

[Webslinger]

I would have traded Cano and signed Keppinger to play second, done deal.

[theslick1]

I would have traded Cano and signed Keppinger to play second, done deal.

Not a bad idea. I was really hoping they would have signed Keppinger.

[kj244]

the smartest thing for the yankees to do, though this wont be popular would be to trade Granderson and Cano plus whoe ever else, for what ever they can get, suck for 2 years then go all in for the 2015 season and sign like 5 or 6 or 7 of these guys.

I couldn't agree more and have been saying so for months. Just imagine (forgetting no trade clauses etc. which I am assuming can be worked out if the Yankees go through a re-build)

1. Sabbathia to Texas for Profar and Olt.
2. Granderson for the best deal available.
3. Cano for the best deal available.
4. Hughes for the best deal available.
5. I'd even see if Tex can be enticed to head back home to Washington for prospects
(naturally, this would have made sense a month ago before LaRoche was resigned.

In addition, with a little planning, we may have been in a position to land some prospects for Swisher before last season.

Then, in 2015 and beyond, spend some money to sign a legitimate ace (e.g. David Price) and two power bats (e.g. Stanton and Harper) and we are off to the races.

[theslick1]

Just imagine.....

1. Sabbathia to Texas for Profar and Olt.
2. Granderson for the best deal available.
3. Cano for the best deal available.
4. Hughes for the best deal available.
5. I'd even see if Tex can be enticed to head back home to Washington for prospects
(naturally, this would have made sense a month ago before LaRoche was resigned.

I just imagined what 4th place looks like.

[ShadyOne]

Not a bad idea. I was really hoping they would have signed Keppinger.

Seriously..

Seemed to be the perfect fit. Guy can hit some, play anywhere. Would have been insurance against injury, or for whenever anyone needed a rest. Quality utility guys are invaluable. It isn't like the money he got was huge...

[bedford1829]

I would rather give Robbie more money over less years than get conned into another monster long term deal that hamstrings us for the long run.

[Kerminator]

I would rather give Robbie more money over less years than get conned into another monster long term deal that hamstrings us for the long run.

I agree, $23 Mil per year for 5 years. Pay more per year for less years but he's not worth $25 Mil per. My gut feeling is the Yankees will sign him for $20 Mil per year for at least 7-8 years.

Someone else said that Cano isn't the face of the Yankees and that's true but once Jeter retires and Cano has his 7-8 year contract, he will be the face of the Yankees.

[bfrap]

There seems to be this assumption that ARod will definitely be back this season and that Youk will stay healthy. I can't see both of those things happening

Does not matter what you see... A. You, like myself are a nobody... B. As a GM, you CAN'T even let on that you are thinking about that.

I highly disagree, A-Rod will be back.. will he be someone to be feared or someone that will make us cringe? That is the question... And as far as Youk, if the Yanks have my luck, he will get hurt in spring training and come off the DL the same week that a-rod does.... (knock on wood)... You also have a better chance of one of the outfielders going down with an injury than Youk after the return of A-Rod. (law of averages.. 3 outfielders... 1 youk..)

Again, you might be right, but a GM cannot think like that... and as for the Yanks bat they want, they HAVE to assume at this time that when A-Rod comes back.. that person very well may need to play some D to stay in the lineup.

[iam brett favre]

I seriously cant believe how many people want to get rid of Cano. It absolutely baffles me.

[Pinstripe power]

I seriously cant believe how many people want to get rid of Cano. It absolutely baffles me.

what would you rather do. trade him or hand him a ten year deal and risk him being arod 2.0 late in the contract? no one wants to trade him, they just dont want to give him that kind of deal and there is strong thoguht some other team will

[ciaban]

I just imagined what 4th place looks like.

lol i loved this.

what would you rather do. trade him or hand him a ten year deal and risk him being arod 2.0 late in the contract? no one wants to trade him, they just dont want to give him that kind of deal and there is strong thoguht some other team will

while getting a draft pick back for him is not desirable, you can rest assured that no one is giving cano a 10 year deal, unless it's 10y/100m

[IceHawk-181]

The issue is that posters on this forum want to see a fundamental change in the financial calculus of baseball teams; this off-season and last should be testament to the unchanging reality of large multi-year contracts.

Teams prioritize lower AAV over contract length and that is not changing any time soon.

Over the last three years (2010-2012) Robinson Cano has accumulated 20.1 fWAR. That ties him with Joey Votto for second and places him exactly 0.5 fWAR behind Miguel Cabrera.

Removing Cano from this line-up is tantamount to declaring a multi-year rebuilding process in which the Yankees battle with the Red Sox for Third and Fourth place while the Rays and Jays become the dominant force in the AL East.

Have we not learned the lesson of un-tested prospects yet?
I am still waiting for the Killer Bs to start a regular season game for the Yankees or for Jesus Montero to manage a 0.300 avg in over 81 plate-appearances, to say nothing of a season.

Robinson Cano is one of the greatest talents in the game, is currently the best Second Baseman in all of Baseball, and likely has three solid years of high level play left.

Cano is a solid talent.
His average is a stable piece of his skill-set, as is demonstrated by a BABIP that has not strayed more than +/- 0.08 points in the last four years. His power is great, averaging over 40-doubles and 25 Home Runs each of the last four years, with an ISO climbing from 0.199 to 0.238.

Cano is 0.310/0.350/0.500/25HR/95RBI player with one to three more elite years ahead of him and likely a solid 3-5 years of 3.5-5.0 fWAR value.

He needs to stay in pinstripes for this team to remain competitive.

Any other conclusion is a knee-jerk reaction to watching players like Harper and Trout and fantasizing that by dumping Cano we could somehow manage to steal a top-prospect that will become the next Jeter or Pujols.

It is not going to happen.

We cannot replace Cano through Free-Agency with the 2014 class.
He is the youngest and most talented Free-Agent out there, unless you would like to replace him with a Career 2.9 fWAR Alexi Casilla.

Alex, Teixeira, and Jeter have seen their most productive years pass into history.
If your goal is to see this team compete the Yankees need to retain Cano and build a young core around him as he evolves into the resident Bat-Heavy Veteran.

Otherwise, the Yankees will need a real rebuild.

And that cannot happen until we stock the farm system and then give the prospects years of development time while hoping they turn out better than Brackman, Betances, Montero, et al.

[Thumper 88]

The issue is that posters on this forum want to see a fundamental change in the financial calculus of baseball teams; this off-season and last should be testament to the unchanging reality of large multi-year contracts.

Teams prioritize lower AAV over contract length and that is not changing any time soon.

Over the last three years (2010-2012) Robinson Cano has accumulated 20.1 fWAR. That ties him with Joey Votto for second and places him exactly 0.5 fWAR behind Miguel Cabrera.

Removing Cano from this line-up is tantamount to declaring a multi-year rebuilding process in which the Yankees battle with the Red Sox for Third and Fourth place while the Rays and Jays become the dominant force in the AL East.

Have we not learned the lesson of un-tested prospects yet?
I am still waiting for the Killer Bs to start a regular season game for the Yankees or for Jesus Montero to manage a 0.300 avg in over 81 plate-appearances, to say nothing of a season.

Robinson Cano is one of the greatest talents in the game, is currently the best Second Baseman in all of Baseball, and likely has three solid years of high level play left.

Cano is a solid talent.
His average is a stable piece of his skill-set, as is demonstrated by a BABIP that has not strayed more than +/- 0.08 points in the last four years. His power is great, averaging over 40-doubles and 25 Home Runs each of the last four years, with an ISO climbing from 0.199 to 0.238.

Cano is 0.310/0.350/0.500/25HR/95RBI player with one to three more elite years ahead of him and likely a solid 3-5 years of 3.5-5.0 fWAR value.

He needs to stay in pinstripes for this team to remain competitive.

Any other conclusion is a knee-jerk reaction to watching players like Harper and Trout and fantasizing that by dumping Cano we could somehow manage to steal a top-prospect that will become the next Jeter or Pujols.

It is not going to happen.

We cannot replace Cano through Free-Agency with the 2014 class.
He is the youngest and most talented Free-Agent out there, unless you would like to replace him with a Career 2.9 fWAR Alexi Casilla.

Alex, Teixeira, and Jeter have seen their most productive years pass into history.
If your goal is to see this team compete the Yankees need to retain Cano and build a young core around him as he evolves into the resident Bat-Heavy Veteran.

Otherwise, the Yankees will need a real rebuild.

And that cannot happen until we stock the farm system and then give the prospects years of development time while hoping they turn out better than Brackman, Betances, Montero, et al.

I couldn't have said it any better. 100% agree

[Pinstripe power]

lol i loved this.

while getting a draft pick back for him is not desirable, you can rest assured that no one is giving cano a 10 year deal, unless it's 10y/100m

not really. theres plenty of deals you wouldn't expect to happent that have

[jango2000]

I can't wait until November.....then we can finally say goodbyes to Pettitte, Kuroda, Granderson, Cano, Rivera, Youk and every other free agent....

The organization can start to replant with some new fresh faces that hopefully someday they will lead the Yanks to a Championship!

Brian should go for broke with the best available players with 1 year deal and avoid making stupid trades until David Price and Giancarlo Stanton are made available....Sometime in Dec the Rays and Marlins will be asking for the leagues best prospects and by then our pool should be ready....

So you can't wait to see all of our best players leave so that we can replant the team with fresh new faces who will one day lead us to a championship?
Who are all these fresh new faces that you will be trading for Price and Stanton?
And my next question to you is, who will be on the team with Price and Stanton if we trade away all of our best prospects to get them and let our best veterans walk?