The Yankees would love to bring back Robinson Cano, but there is a fine line between being reasonable and being insane. It seems the Robinson Cano talks will bring them to the brink of insanity.
According to reports, Robinson Cano asked the New York Yankees for $300-310 Million in a 10 year span several months ago. The Yankees of course, said no. The Yankees then offered Cano a David Wright type contract (8-years, $173 Million) but Cano deferred the offer. The Yankees and Cano haven’t spoken about a contract offer since then.
Personally in my opinion, no player out there is worth $300 Million dollars. On top of that, Cano would regress if we give him a 10 year deal. Let’s look at some of the players that haven’t played as well as their contract.
1) Alex Rodriguez (NYY) (10-year, $275 Million, signed in 2007): Alex Rodriguez makes ridiculous amounts of money, but he doesn’t put up ridiculous numbers on the field. A-Rod hasn’t had a 100 RBI season since 2010. In 2010, he had 125 RBI’s. The number dropped dramatically in 2011 to 64. Let’s also look at A-Rod’s power numbers. The last time A-Rod hit 30 HR’s was also in 2010. The number was slashed almost in half in 2011, to 16. Ever since 2010, Rodriguez has not been the same player, yet the Yankees have to carry this contract until 2017 because they signed up for vintage A-Rod.
2) Albert Pujols (LAA) (10-year, $245 Million, signed in 2012): Another contract that a player doesn’t live up to. Albert Pujols went to the L.A. Angels after his contract ended in St. Louis and although Pujols had a good year for them in 2012, 2013 was a different story. The Angels are paying him to hit 30 HR’s and have 100 RBI’s. He had 17 HR’s and 64 RBI’s. Those are good numbers if you’re a player that isn’t considered an “All-Star” but since he’s being paid $245 Million plus incentives, those numbers are poor.
I know fans want to think about the present, and I know Robinson Cano is in his prime. But before you give someone a contract you have to look at the entire deal. Not just the first couple of years. If you give Robinson Cano a 10-year contract, he’s going slow down, he’s not going to hit as many HR’s or have as many RBI’s. He’s not going to be the same Robinson Cano that is going to take the field tonight. The age of the gigantic contract needs to come to an end. I get that baseball is their passion and all, but $300 Million is ludicrous. Considering the Yankees are trying to keep their payroll under $189 Million this offseason, which they might want to reconsider.
I said it once and I’ll say it again: no player is worth $300 Million. Ever.
