Not that there was ever any doubt, but nonetheless it’s still heartening to see that the Yankees were able to reach a two-year agreement (at the same $15 million salary, to boot) with the immortal Mariano Rivera relatively quickly, in spite of several things:
(a) Mo reportedly was looking for $18 million a year for presumably two years. Though Mo is all that is right with the world, there’s a pretty strong case against even paying Mo $15 million a year, let along giving him a $3 million raise. I’m sure had it come to that the Yankees would’ve acquiesced to Rivera’s salary demands, as unlike Derek Jeter, Mo is still operating at an elite level, but that’s still a tremendous price to pay for a reliever entering his age 41 season.
(b) Apparently both the Red Sox and Angels were hovering with supposed three-year offers that may have each been worth a total of around $51 million. Not that I would have ever expected Mo to bolt the only team he’s ever known (nor would the Yankees ever have let that happen), but if these rumors are true and Mo actually turned down a higher average annual salary, extra year and $21 million in compensation for the Yankees’ two-year, $30 million pact, then he is even more Godly than we even realized.
(c) Though there are reports that the Yankees and Jeter have made some headway in their negotiations, the already very public battle has made both sides look pretty bad regardless of which side you stand on. Regardless of what Jeter eventually signs for, that Mo was willing to wrap this thing up relatively quickly and take less money than both what he initially asked for and he was possibly being offered by two of the Yankees’ arch-rivals, speaks volumes about the kind of person Mariano Rivera is, and may tarnish Jeter’s golden boy image if he continues to stubbornly insist on far more money than he is worth.
After another stellar season in 2010 in which Mo pitched to 1.80/2.81/3.65 pitcher triple slash (ERA/FIP/xFIP), Bill James has Mo once again being amazing, with a 1.89 ERA (in two more innings) and a 2.52 FIP. For his career Mo is a 2.23/2.79/3.03 pitcher in 1,150 innings. James also has Mo’s K/9 — a number that had many people concerned as it fell to 6.75, his lowest since 1998′s 5.28 — bouncing back to 8.42. CAIRO — which, by the way, if you haven’t already done so be sure to check out SG’s fantastic post on Mo from earlier this week — sees Mo with a 2.69 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 68 innings, and accumulating 1.9 WAR.
So unless you believe Mariano is teetering on the edge of breaking down, there’s no reason not to like a deal that keeps him in the fold for two more years at the same salary level. Well done on all sides.
In a minor rumor that doesn’t really merit its own post, apparently the Yankees and Dodgers were close to swapping Francisco Cervelli for Russell Martin, which, had it happened, would’ve made me dance in the streets. However, apparently the Dodgers went ahead and non-tendered Martin anyway, and I imagine the Yankees will be all over this especially if it doesn’t cost a player, even though Cervelli’s as expendable as it gets. Martin’s been pretty terrible the last two years, but is still a career .337 wOBA hitter, and as Ben noted in the aforelinked post, still gets his walks (11.8% career BB%). James has Martin projected at a bounceback .334 wOBA in a whopping 536 plate appearances (CAIRO .329 in 547), and perhaps he’d even be a bit better than that in a more limited role as the Yankees’ BUC.
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Man the Jeter ax-grinding really needs to stop.
It's 2 completely separate negotiations. Rivera, for all his greatness, does very little to drive the bottom line of the Yankees from a business perspective… he's a relief pitcher, you don't go to a game just to see a relief pitcher
Jeter, in addition to being a baseball player, is a valuable business commodity. His agent wants him to be compensated for such. The question is, how much so and for how long. That's why it's a much trickier negotiation with far more wiggle room and needs to take a lot more time to resolve itself so all parties involved can walk away and save face.
And let's stop glossing over the fact that while 2010 didn't go so well for Jeter, he's all of one year removed from finishing 3rd in the MVP voting.
The anti-appreciation and short sighted reasoning needs to stop, pronto
But with all that being said, I am overjoyed that Mo will be here for 2 more years just like everybody else
Thanks for swinging by, Anon.
This seems to be the fundamental difference between those siding with Jeter and those who find themselves aligning with the Yankees' hardline approach: whether or not you believe Jeter's off-field value and past performance/production should be factored into a new deal.
I'm pragmatic and don't believe that the Yankees need to overpay Derek for services rendered. He's already receiver more than $200 million from the Yankees; he's been plenty compensated. For me, the question is, what is a 36-year-old shortstop coming off the worst season of his career worth, and for how long? Sure, he's one season removed from a near-MVP campaign, but if you look at the graph in the other Jeter post you just commented on, 2009 appears to be something of an outlier.
I still don't see how anyone can think offering Jeter a $15M/year contract is unappreciative or short-sighted. It's still a significant overpay, and the Yankees are showing him the respect he deserves by doing so.
If the Yankees really want to reward him for 15 years of being a good soldier, give him the three-year baseball contract and then sign him to a lifetime personal services deal (similar to what I imagine Reggie Jackson has) and/or give him a small piece of the team. There's no need to tie up excess payroll and a roster slot on a shortstop who will be 39 in three years, no matter how great he's been.
Hey if it comes out that Jeter's agent and the Yankees worked out some sort of deal separate from his contract where he's gonna get his "icon" money but without it affecting the teams payroll and both sides feel it will help the perception of the whole thing, cool.
I'm speaking more to the idea of the 3 years/ 45 million, take it or leave it, its way more than any team will give you
THAT is shortsighted. In a sport with no salary cap, you don't damage the relationship with your greatest living icon to save 5 million dollars a year for 3 years
A 3 year / 60 million deal allows the Yankees to "win" the negotiation by holding it to 3 years, allows Jeter to save face by avoiding a pay cut, and maintains the mutually beneficial aspect of the relationship for the next 50 years… when a lot more money will be at stake.
Anyways to put a bow on it…. I'm of the belief that the Yankees have known all along that they are going to sign Jeter to a 3 year contract for around 60 million
The reason you put out 3/45 is so that you have some wiggle room to get to 3/60… if you start at 3/60… where do you go from there?
Same thing from Jeter's agent… start out asking for the moon so the other side feels better about "only" giving you 20 million per
The craziest thing is, this is all going to be whitewashed the minute he gets to 3,000 hits… which is going to happen soon. But hey, we need to feed the machine right?
Exactly; the Yankees had no reason to come out of the gate with 3/$60M if that's where they knew they'd be comfortable ending up.