New York Yankees: Robinson Cano And Their Tricky Offseason

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

As we near a lull in the offseason action we’ve seen to this point, and the Winter Meetings begin to creep closer, the New York Yankees appear to be lurking in the bushes. They’ve already made one marquee move, in signing Brian McCann, but few expect them to stop there. They have an in-house free agent to take care of, in Robinson Cano, in addition to some other potential big names that they’ve been linked to.

It’s managing all of these names that could prove difficult for the Yankees to pull off. Even the Evil Empire has to have some sort of control in their budget. And if they hope to make some of the necessary additions to this club, it may require them to part ways with perhaps the best second baseman in all of baseball.

There’s no doubt that the Yankees would like to retain Robinson Cano, just as any team would with a player who is arguably their best. Except in Cano’s case, it isn’t arguably. He is. At the same time, though, he refuses to budge off of absurd contract demands, and the Yankees appear to have dropped a take-it-or-leave-it type offer. Regardless of what that deal looks like, you can bet that it doesn’t involve 10 years and it doesn’t involve $300 million.

If they were to sign Cano, and having already signed McCann, it would take them out of play for a number of big names. Carlos Beltran, whom the club has been targeting heavily this winter thus far, would essentially be out of the picture. Even bringing in Masahiro Tanaka, perhaps the best “free agent” arm available, would prove difficult with both Cano and McCann in the mix.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Cano and at least one other significant signing can’t happen. It’s going to be tricky, though, if the Yankees are to try and avoid going over the $189 million mark. And with limited resources within their farm system, they’re going to have to rely heavily on free agency in order to improve. Which is why this whole Robinson Cano deal is so tricky for them.

If they can pull it off, and get the deal that they’d prefer, rather than more to the side of what Cano is asking, they’ll have room to continue to add, but not much. Perhaps the best route at this point for the Yankees is to forego signing Cano, and focus on the names like Beltran, maybe Tanaka, and other cheaper options. At least from a financial standpoint.