Photo Credit: Debby Wong – USA Today
If you have been following the New York Yankees recently then you know that Robinson Cano has been on an absolute tear. If you haven’t been watching then it’s worth noting that in his last 15 games Cano is hitting .391 (25-64) with 13 runs, six doubles, seven homers and 17 RBI. So yeah, that guy is pretty good.
Cano is undoubtedly the premier hitter in the Yankees’ lineup and with his impending free agency at the end of the year, he is finally ready to get paid like the superstar that he is. The only problem is that as of right now, it’s not certain that he will be getting his big paycheck from the Bombers.
There has been a lot of debate about if the Yankees should really get tied into another long-term big money contract that has a high probability of turning sour after the first portion of it’s length. However, the fact remains that without Cano the Yankees would currently have one of the least intimidating lineups in MLB.
The real question here is, do the short-term positives outweigh the long-term negatives with Cano? In my opinion, the answer to that is a big fat yes.
The Yankees could most likely bring Cano back on a 7-year deal, meaning that he would be making a great deal of money from next year until after the 2020 season. The only year that the Yankees really have to worry about how much money Cano will make is next year when they will be trying to stay under the $189.9 million payroll cap in order to avoid a 50 percent luxury tax. After next year the Yankees could go back to being the big spenders that they always have been.
The team is also expecting to begin infusing some youth into the roster in 2014-15 meaning that they will be paying multiple players on the roster something near the minimum salary, making Cano’s price tag even less of an issue.
Then there is that whole “is Cano still going to be producing in the final years of the deal?” thing. Well, no, Cano is most likely not going to be hitting 35-40 home runs when he is 36 or 37, but there is a good chance that he will still be one of the best offensive second-basemen in the game. Not to mention, that he could be chasing 3,000 hits (As of 4/26/2013 he has 1,487). Cano is currently by far and away the best second-baseman in the game and even as he begins to decline he in all likely-hood will still remain the premier player at his position.
Also, with the way that there seems to be new record-breaking contracts every single offseason, Cano commanding a $25 million salary probably won’t even be that eye-popping in 2020.
Cano is a good guy and has already given the Yankees a hometown-discount once, it’s about time that he gets to really cash in on the talent that he has worked so hard for. Hopefully, the Yankees front office is thinking the same way.
Chris Ronca is a New York Yankees writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter; @ChrisRonca.
