The Yankees have a long list of decisions they must make this offseason. They'll have to decide on whether or not they'd like to re-sign some key free agents. Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter will be free agents. Manager Joe Girardi's contract is up.
All will be big assignments for Cashman and Co. Re-signing Jeter, however, will likely be near or at the top of that list.
It's tough to imagine Jeter in any uniform but a Yankees one. He knows that. The team knows that. The fans know that. Everyone knows that. It's almost a safe bet to call a contract extension imminent. If that deal is indeed inevitable, how much will it be worth, and more importantly how long will the deal last?
Make no mistake about it. The Yankees will pay Jeter. They will pay him a lot. He's earned the money and they have it to give to him, so why not? Even with the all-but-certain full-court press for free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee, the Yankees will be able to give Jeter whatever he wants when it comes to dollars and cents.
Where the Yankees and Jeter may differ on opinion, though, will be when it comes to the length of a potential contract. Jeter is going to want to end his career in the Bronx and they'll likely want to oblige. That being said, Jeter, for the first time in his career really, showed signs of decline this season.
Statistically, he had the worst season of his career. His .270 batting average was 21 points lower than his previousl lowest season. His on-base percentage, something you figure he'd make up for his low average with, was a career-low. A lifetime .309 hitter in the playoffs, Jeter hit .250 in the postseason before the Yankees were eliminated on Friday night at the hands of the Texas Rangers.
Jeter is trending downward. It's not surprising — he's 36 — but it's probably closer to a sign of things to come, not an aberration.
The Yankees can fiscally afford to have Jeter around a little longer. What they can't afford, though, is to be overpaying him and having him become a liability in the lineup and on the field.
The Yankees are going to have to make concessions and reward Jeter for a remarkable career by overpaying him. That's fine, they can handle that part. However, Jeter may need to make some concessions of his own.
Whether it is accepting a shorter deal, moving down in the batting order or even changing positions, he owes it to them. If they're going to show him how much he means to them by paying him more than his market value, the future Hall of Famer may have to return the favor at some point.
