UPDATE: The Yankees Should Trade Robinson Cano If...

Back on March 7, 2013 I posted the following statement concerning Robinson Cano and the Yankees:

If the Yankees are in third place or worse by the deadline they should trade Robinson Cano. His agent, Mr. Scott Boras, is going to want to fleece the Yanks for a contract of over $200 million with at least 7 or 8-years. A 5-year deal would be much more economical but knowing how Scott Boras is when negotiating deals for his clients, economical isn't a word that he would use.

Well, now that Cano has fired Boras and signed on with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Agency I need to amend my statement somewhat. Like I stated in the original post, I'm a big Robinson Cano fan and I don't make my call to trade Cano lightly. I'm not making this amendment because Cano is hitting lights out (8 for 19 with 7 RBIs, 8 Runs scored with 3 Homers) while leading the Yankees in scoring 32 runs on 44 hits during their current three-game winning streak. I'm looking at this logically.

I do believe that with the change in representation for Cano a deal between him and the Yankees will happen. I believe Jose Cano (Robinson's father) when he says: I know he will sign for six or seven years. I've always believed that a deal within those number of years would work out the best for both sides. I think a deal similar to Josh Hamilton's 5-year $133-million would work out best. At 30, Cano can get paid top dollar with the potential for another payday at the age of 36 (similar to how Jeter signed with the Yankees in 2011). Give him $30-million a year but $30-million over five years is much more manageable than $30-million over eight to ten years.

For the Yankees, it helps to streamline their payroll in terms of number of years signed and avoid possibly having a repeat of the negative impact of a long contract like Alex Rodriguez's. In generally I feel that Baseball is better served if players signed contracts with in the five or six year range rather than the eight to ten year age, especially for players who are already 30 years old. I think the benchmark for that will be how Albert Pujols continues to perform during the length of his 10-year $240-million deal. Pujols was recently quotes as saying: "God has given me ability and talent, but the day I feel like I can't compete any more on this level, I'm not going to embarrass myself," "I'm going to walk off. Whether that's next year, two years from now, only God knows." . 

I personally feel that in signing players to shorter contracts helps to limit the amount of stagnancy that might eventually accrue on rosters from older players being locked into multi-year deals that feel like there is no end in sight.

Like I said above, I do think the Yankees will sign Cano either during the season or in the offseason. I think more rational heads will prevail in the form of Cano's new representatives. I always hinged the talk of trading Cano on the Boras-effect. I'm truly glad to see that effect gone from this situation. We'll see how it Cano's contract situation plays out over time.

Sisco Kid