MY BASEBALL BIAS

ROBINSON CANO, 2B
STATS

According to John Heyman at SI.com, the Yankees and Robinson Cano have agreed to a long-term deal.

Here are the details:

• $30 million over four years is guaranteed

• Yankees hold a $2 million buyout for 2012 and 2013

• Yankees also hold a 2012 option for $13 million and a 2013 option for an estimated $15 million.

Great deal. After screaming for the past few weeks about taking Cano long-term, the organization stepped up and got a deal done. Kudos all around.

Heyman also mentions that the team is close to signing third baseman Chris Woodward to a minor league deal. If the nine-year veteran makes the major league club out of camp he’ll get a one-year, $700K deal. If he’s sent to the minors, he’ll make $120K.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting this afternoon that the Yankees are close to a four-year deal with Robinson Cano worth $30 million that would buy out all of his arbitration years.

I wonder if this Yankee organization is beginning to “get it”. If they end up deciding not to swing a deal for Santana, look at the decisions the Yankees have made this off-season that are highly unusual for a club that has always gone after older, big-ticket items and tended to not think very much of their young talent.

• 1. Have so far been reluctant to trade prospects Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santana, going against what they have always done - give away the young talent for proven veterans that will end up costing them a boat load of money.

• 2. Have shown concern over signing Santana to contract that could reach close to $140M further adding to an already bloating payroll.

• 3. Have not been as active in the free-agent reliever market (with the exception of LaTroy Hawkins) deciding instead to pick from internal candidates.

• 4. Have finally, after years of refusing to do so, locked up one of their young star players by buying out the rest of his (Cano) arbitration years.

I wonder if there is a deal in the works for Wang as well. And why why not? He pitches deep into games and has shown himself to be durable enough to throw over 400 innings the last two years on top of winning 38 games. Add that to the above list and I would say the front office has completely changed their philosophy in one short off-season.

Amazing.

Hat tip to Joseph P. at River Ave. Blues for the Rosenthal link.

According to Kat O’Brien of Newsday, Robinson Cano’s agent says that he would be open to discussing a long-term deal with the Yankees. However, no one from the organization has contacted either one of them with a proposal. O’Brien notes that Cashman did not return a call placed to him.

What’s amazing to me is how many organizations are taking the opposite approach of the Yankees and signing their young talent to long-term contracts. Players like Grady Sizemore, Chase Utley, Joe Mauer, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Troy Tulowizki and James Shields have all been locked up by their respective clubs.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it - why are the Yankees not doing this with Cano and Chien-Ming Wang?

An MLB alert come across my phone at the Cathedral this afternoon and I thought for sure a deal had been struck for Johan Santana. Instead, the Rockies did the unthinkable, locking up rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for an unprecedented price of $30 million over the next six years.

The next thing that came to mind, of course, was why the Yankees aren’t doing this with Robinson Cano? It’s something I mentioned the other day and other Yankee bloggers feel strongly about as well. Instead, the organization goes with the “one year at a time” approach with the their young star players. For the life of me I can’t figure out why. If there are two players in the Yankee system that should be shown the money, it’s Cano and Chien-Ming Wang.

If I may, I’d like to make a wish. Maybe you’re not aware of this, but Tulo’s favorite player is Derek Jeter. He’ll become a free-agent in 2014 at the tender age of 29, Jeter will be 40 - and I pray to GOD - not still playing shortstop. I’d like to see him in pinstripes. Living out here in the West, I get to see a lot of Rockies games. The guy is the real deal offensively and even more-so defensively.

It’s just a wish.

PeteAbe provides us with the the figures made by the Yankees and the counter-offer made by the player’s agents:

Brian Bruney submitted $845,000, the Yankees submittted $640,000.

Robinson Cano submitted $4.55 million, the Yankees submitted $3.2 million.

Chien-Ming Wang submitted $4.6 million, the Yankees submitted $4 million.

As Pete also mentioned, the Wang deal should get done with the sides only $600,000 dollars apart. Bruney will probably saddle up as well.

The deal with Cano might take a bit longer because of the $1.35 million gap.

I’m not surprised, but I wish the Yankees would have come to long-term deals with Wang and Cano. I expressed as much yesterday.

I guess this is a nice follow up post as to why Robinson Cano deserves a long-term contract from the Yankees. I’m a big Rob Neyer fan (I know some don’t care for him) and that’s why I think his take on Cano deserves a mention here.

Today, over at the World Wide Leader, Neyer ranked the top major-league second baseman and put Cano at the top of his list based on “value over the next five seasons”:

The biggest mover, though, is Cano, who’s credited with 50 FRAR, a gigantic number for a second baseman. Even if you don’t believe he was that good with the glove, he still has to rank as one of the two best second basemen in the majors, right? Considering the league in which he plays?

For me, the options are clear: If you’re looking for a second baseman for the next five years, you must choose Utley’s bat or Cano’s youth, and all the rest is just fighting over table scraps.

I’ll take Cano, because I don’t think we’ve yet seen his best work and because he plays in the toughest division in the toughest league.

In case you were wondering what he meant by “50 FRAR”, here is the table he provided and a brief description of it’s contents:

That last column is a new one: WARP, Wins Above Replacement Player, arrives courtesy of Baseball Prospectus and incorporates defensive value (in the form of Fielding Runs Above Replacement, which I believe is a generally worthy metric).

Here is BP’s description of FRAR:

Fielding Runs Above Replacement. The difference between an average player and a replacement player is determined by the number of plays that position is called on to make. That makes the value at each position variable over time. In the all-time adjustments, an average catcher is set to 39 runs above replacement per 162 games, first base to 10, second to 29, third to 22, short to 33, center field to 24, left and right to 14.

So I think if Neyer and I were running the Yankees, there is no doubt Cano would receive that long-term contract. You could even argue, based on his position, that he’s worth David Wright money ($55 million over 6 years).

The four Yankees listed below are arbitration eligible and will exchange figures tomorrow with the organization. Both parties will have until Feb. 1 to either reach a deal or go to a hearing.

ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE

Let’s take a look at Wang and Cano first. Both of these players are integral parts of the team and are due for major raises. Usually what happens with the arbitration process is the player’s reps. and the team exchange figures and then try and meet somewhere in the middle. If they can’t come to an agreement, they then go to a hearing where a moderator decides whether or not the player is worth the money he’s asking for. Ultimately, the Yankees want to avoid arbitration which means they may have to over pay for both Wang and Cano.

Now the Yankees never do this, but wouldn’t it be smarter to buy out the rest of their free agency years? The Mets were successful last year in locking up third baseman David Wright for 6 years/$55 million and shortstop Jose Reyes for 4 years/$23.35 million. Wang has shown that he’s a workhorse, a 200 innings a year pitcher who’s only downfall has been his postseason performances. And Cano is already one of the top second baseman in all of baseball. At only 25 years old, he hasn’t even reached his prime and nearly won a batting title in 2006. A few days ago, Cano mentioned that he hadn’t heard from the Yankees concerning a long-term deal which I think indicates that they’re set on going to arbitration.

Regarding to Betemit and Bruney, both players will have a chance at making the team out of spring training. Because of his versatility in the infield, Betemit should land a spot. Bruney simply lost his stuff in the second half of last season and will have an uphill battle grabbing a slot in the bullpen.

What are your thoughts on this? Should the Yankees try and lock Wang and Cano up for multiple years? Have they earned it? I believe both of them have.

Robbie Cano rambled on a bit today at an elementary school in Randolph N.J..

ON SANTANA:

“It’s a great deal if we can get Santana. We need it. We need a No. 1 guy like him. … If [the Red Sox] got Santana, they’re going to be a way better team. I hope we get him. It’s not a good idea for us if they get Santana.”

This is the second player to go on record about the team needing a “No. 1 guy”. When asked about Santana back in late November, Jorge Posada said “We need a No. 1. I would love to have him (Santana). It is a need (a No.1) in October, no question about it. To face him is a lot different than it is to catch him.”

Full Disclosure Alert: I once thought the same thing… keep him away from Boston. I’m not of that frame of mind anymore. Call me a flip-flopper if you like. I like to think of it as coming to my senses. My main problem with a Santana deal is the contract. I don’t think 7 years and $140 million dollars is wise. This is why players don’t double as GM’s.

More from Cano - ON MELKY:

“It’s like I tell him — don’t pay attention to the rumors,” Cano said of Cabrera. “If you get traded, just keep playing. He wants to be a Yankee; he said he doesn’t want to leave. I told him, ‘If you have to leave, keep playing hard. You never know. You might come back.’

“I love Melky, but he [would] play every day in Minnesota. If the deal is going to be great for him, I’ll be happy. That’s what I told him. If you’re going to play every day, you prove to yourself that you can be in the big leagues. You don’t want to be sitting on the bench.”

Melky started 137 games last year - most of them in CF. He played in 150 games. That’s pretty much an everyday job. Plus, the last time I checked, Melky is slated to be the EVERY DAY centerfielder for the Yankees in 2008 if he isn’t traded. Where the hell is Cano coming up with this stuff?

One last thing - ON BEING PULLED FROM WINTER BALL:

Cano had been cleared to play six games in the league to test an injury suffered in September — a pulled an abdominal muscle that no longer feels painful, he said — and was sternly reminded of his limit when general manager Brian Cashman noticed Cano had already played in 10 games.

“I was really surprised,” Cano said. “I didn’t know they were going to call. But they are my boss, so I do whatever they want me to do. I just [went] home and kept working.”

What? He agreed to a six game limit and he’s “really surprised” when the Yankees found out he had played 10 games and asked him to stop playing?

I must say, I’m “really surprised” by Cano’s comments today.

UPDATE: Cano also mentioned that he would like to go “long-term” with the team but he has not been approached about a new contract.

From ESPN.com:

“The Yankees sent a letter to Cano to stop playing, but they didn’t offer many details or reasons,” said Alfredo Griffin, the Estrellas Orientales general manager.

Cano told Estrellas teammates, however, that the Yankees didn’t want him to aggravate a calf injury that is still healing.

The Dominican winter league baseball tournament began its round-robin playoff series Wednesday. Cano hit .389 in nine games during the regular season. He was hitless in his first postseason game Wednesday.

Not much news here other than the Yankees have every right to protect their investment. The much larger question will be what position Cano hits in in the lineup. I would like to see him hit fifth behind A-Rod, but we’ll have to wait and see what Girardi has in mind.

My ideal lineup would be:

1. Damon (L)
2. Jeter (R)
3. Abreu (L)
4. A-Rod (R)
5. Cano (L)
6. Posada (S)
7. Matsui (L)
8. Giambi (L)/Duncan (R)
9. Melky (S)

I think Cano can equal or even surpass Matsui now in offensive production. I’m not sure I like Giambi anywhere in the lineup anymore but maybe he’ll thrive if dropped to the bottom of the order. He could also see a lot of RBI chances with Cano, Posada and Matsui batting in front of him. But how much can we expect him to play? 80 games? 100? Duncan will definitely get his at-bats if he has a good spring training.

Isn’t it fun to kick these ideas around?

From Nick Cafardo of BG’s Extra Bases:

The Red Sox appear to be smack in the middle of the action, according to one major league source. There’s a lot of silence coming from Yawkey Way, always an indication there’s something big in the works. According to what we’ve been told by a couple of major league sources is that the Sox would be willing to part with Tony Conigliaro Award winner Jon Lester over Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden over Justin Masterson. The Twins would take Coco Crisp to be their new center-fielder instead of the untouchable Jacoby Ellsbury, but doing that means the Sox would have to kick in another significant prospect. While sources did not confirm who that prosoect was, ESPN reported that it might be shortstop Jed Lowrie.

At this stage the Twins are still trying to sort out who is willing to offer what. The Yankees are still very much in the hunt with their talks centering around Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano.

“Centering around Robinson Cano”? I’ve read a few reports that have thrown around his name, but not where he’s been at the center of negotiations. The Yankees are not making Cano available. I think Cafardo was just reporting out of his ass.