A big question all year has been whether the sliding Yankees will be able to shell out for second baseman Robinson Cano, who is becoming a free agent in a few short days.
New York now knows the asking price.
Cano is looking for a 10-year contract worth $305 million this offseason, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports. That would easily be the richest contract in MLB history, surpassing the Alex Rodriguez deal that is widely seen as ludicrous.
Cano has already been dropping hints that he’ll take the biggest offer, even if he has a special place in his heart for the team that brought him up and has been his home. He was noncommittal Wednesday night when asked about Thursday’s home game against the Rays possibly being his last at Yankee Stadium.
“Who knows?” he said, according to the New York Post. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
He laughed when asked if he could see himself in another uniform.
“Man, it’s hard,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s a business. I’ve got to make decision[s] for me and [my] family. I’ll just wait for the day.”
He also sounded like he didn’t think the Yankees would be too bad off without him.
“This is a team that’s always had a lot of superstars and future Hall of Famers,” he said. “I know [Derek] Jeter and [Alex Rodriguez] have three or four years left. They always find a way to get a good guy to get this team to win.”
Cano also mentioned Mark Teixeira, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano in noting that the Yankees would gather the pieces they needed to win, perhaps showing front office-like wishful thinking that age and injuries won’t take their toll.
However it ends, though, it sounds like Cano does not plan on being part of any bargain.
