Monday, November 4, 2013

Yankees Re-Sign Jeter, Confuse All of Baseball

Derek Jeter had a $9.5 million player option that he could take to play in 2014, and most people believed he would pick this option up.  But the Yankees decided this was too easy, and instead offered him a new deal valued at $12 million.  This triggered a series of calculations about the luxury tax that has confused the baseball world.  Joel Sherman has the deal as costing more towards the luxury tax than the option would have, while the good people at fangraphs have it costing less.  Given Sherman's explanation, I believe he is correct in saying that the Yankees just upped the value set against the luxury tax.  It certainly wouldn't be the first time the Yankees bid against themselves to acquire a player they wanted, but it would be the first time they did so while attempting to get their payroll under a certain level.  It's a curious tactic to be sure, but it could work in their favor.  In giving Jeter a few extra million dollars, maybe they can convince Cano that he needs to take a few million dollars less.  Maybe.

6 comments:

Rich Mahogany said...

The Yankees thought it was only fair to pay Jeter the same amount as Youkilis, as they will play about the same number of games.

Fernando Alejandro said...

It's a good strategy. My question is, will Jeter retire this year? Or will he attempt to extend his career an extra year or two?

Rich Mahogany said...

I expect he will retire, but he seems like the kind of player who needs to be dragged off the field.

Fernando Alejandro said...

That's what worries me. He may pull a Bernie, and not see the writing on the wall.

Rich Mahogany said...

I suspect the Yankees offered Jeter the extra $2.5 million now to make it easier to part ways with him after 2014.

I hope he has another 2012-like season and then retires on a high note.

Anonymous said...

I hope so too. It's sad but the time has come to see a Yankees team with no core 4.