Derek Jeter became a free agent for the first time in his 16-year career on Sunday, and while minor rumors of interest from the San Francisco Giants have surfaced, we all know that he's going to be ending up back in the Bronx at a steep price. How much he will cost, however, remains a mystery and brings up an important question: How much is Jeter actually worth?
His .270 batting average and .710 OPS were slightly worse than Marco Scutaro's 2010 statistics, but, of course, that doesn't mean the Yankees see him that way. In fact, a source says that they are willing to go well above and beyond their usual overvaluation for their captain.
"The Yankees are going to overpay him,"a source with intimate knowledge of the discussions between the team and Jeter's agent, Casey Close, told ESPN.com. "The question is, how much are they going to overpay him?"
The source gave the range of $15 million to $20 million per year for three years as the likely payday for Jeter — numbers not drastically less than what Adrian Gonzalez is hoping to garner in free agency. Gonzalez hit .298 with a .904 OPS and 31 home runs in 2010.
"Some people will think the number is unfair," said one source, "And some are going to think it is way too much."
The Yankees have yet to make official offers to Jeter, Mariano Rivera or Cliff Lee, but they will apparently do so for all three in that order.
Jeter is likely to get his offer around Thanksgiving, while negotiations with Cliff Lee may not occur in earnest until after December's winter meetings.
Even if Jeter receives $20 million per year, that will actually be a pay cut. He made $22.6 million for the Yankees in 2010.
