Yankees face big decisions with aging stars
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2010, Wednesday
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A DISAPPOINTING season and one more year of age for marquee players will make this offseason a complicated one for New York Yankees.
The sports franchise with the most valuable brand in the world faces re-signing ageing fan favorites Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera but without damaging long-term flexibility by locking them into long-term deals.
That was not a concern a year ago when the Yankees were coming off their 27th World Series championship, Jeter had a superb year and the team was still basking in the shine of a new stadium.
General Manager Brian Cashman said he expects Jeter and Rivera will return in 2011 but he also made clear he will approach the decline phases of their careers in unemotional terms.
"We're not afraid to make tough decisions if it's what's best for the franchise," Cashman said on Monday, three days after the Yankees were eliminated by the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.
Jeter, the face of the franchise, is a free agent at 36 years old and coming off the worst season of his career.
That raises the question of how long he can keep playing shortstop and hit at the top of the lineup - factors that will have bearing on the length and value of his contract.
The contract for Rivera, who is about to turn 41, should be simpler because his role as closer will be clearly defined and he is not expected to seek a long-term deal.
Then there is catcher Jorge Posada, who is 39 and signed through 2011, and pitcher Andy Pettitte, 38, a free agent who has yet to decide if he wants to come back or retire.
The Yankees, who have expressed a desire to get younger players on the roster, are looking at the prospect of easing their most prominent players into retirement or showing them the door.
While acknowledging that "these guys are legacy players," Cashman also suggested at some point they will be treated as the fungible commodities that players making millions of dollar a year have become. "If you earn less, you get less ... The game of baseball will tell you eventually. It becomes pretty self-evident," he said.
Cashman said he first must re-sign manager Joe Girardi, which seems inevitable given that both Girardi and Cashman said it would be resolved quickly.
The sports franchise with the most valuable brand in the world faces re-signing ageing fan favorites Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera but without damaging long-term flexibility by locking them into long-term deals.
That was not a concern a year ago when the Yankees were coming off their 27th World Series championship, Jeter had a superb year and the team was still basking in the shine of a new stadium.
General Manager Brian Cashman said he expects Jeter and Rivera will return in 2011 but he also made clear he will approach the decline phases of their careers in unemotional terms.
"We're not afraid to make tough decisions if it's what's best for the franchise," Cashman said on Monday, three days after the Yankees were eliminated by the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.
Jeter, the face of the franchise, is a free agent at 36 years old and coming off the worst season of his career.
That raises the question of how long he can keep playing shortstop and hit at the top of the lineup - factors that will have bearing on the length and value of his contract.
The contract for Rivera, who is about to turn 41, should be simpler because his role as closer will be clearly defined and he is not expected to seek a long-term deal.
Then there is catcher Jorge Posada, who is 39 and signed through 2011, and pitcher Andy Pettitte, 38, a free agent who has yet to decide if he wants to come back or retire.
The Yankees, who have expressed a desire to get younger players on the roster, are looking at the prospect of easing their most prominent players into retirement or showing them the door.
While acknowledging that "these guys are legacy players," Cashman also suggested at some point they will be treated as the fungible commodities that players making millions of dollar a year have become. "If you earn less, you get less ... The game of baseball will tell you eventually. It becomes pretty self-evident," he said.
Cashman said he first must re-sign manager Joe Girardi, which seems inevitable given that both Girardi and Cashman said it would be resolved quickly.
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