CAA Baseball co-Head Brodie Van Wagenen yesterday said Roc Nation Sports Owner Jay Z is "intimately involved in all areas" of Yankees 2B Robinson Cano's free agency, according to Anthony McCarron of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Van Wagenen said, "That has been true for the last six months and it's certainly true now." He added, "Jay is a very, very successful businessman who has a keen understanding of value, a keen understanding of brands and a keen understanding of what this player, Robinson Cano, wants to accomplish for his career. He’s been at the table both in strategy sessions in preparation and he absolutely has and will continue to be involved with the actual negotiations with the potential suitors." Van Wagenen said that he and Jay Z, who has been accredited as an agent by the MLBPA, are "trying to position Cano as a 'face of the franchise-type' player." He added, "People recognize that he is going to make an immediate impact on the field and then of course there’s going to be this additional business value that comes with the association of a player of that magnitude with a diverse fan base" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/18).
ASSOCIATION MEANS LITTLE: In N.Y., Dan Martin reports of Cano, "The Yankees aren’t interested in paying him more because of his ties to the rap mogul." A source said, "The New York Yankees value Robinson as a great baseball player and appreciate his value on the field. But any value that’s added with Jay Z isn’t added to the equation." A source "pointed to the drop in attendance" at Yankee Stadium last season when Cano was "one of the team’s few healthy stars" as a reason for why the Yankees will not pay more for him despite his affiliation with Jay Z (N.Y. POST, 11/18).
JOINING THE TEAM? A source said that Univ. of South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney is "leaning toward signing with Roc Nation Sports" for representation (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/15).
