Yankees President Randy Levine, helping introduce free agent acquisition Jacoby Ellsbury, on Friday fired back at former 2B Robinson Cano, who signed a 10-year, $240M deal with the Mariners. Taking issue with Cano’s remark that he "didn’t get respect from the Yankees," Levine said the club's offer of $175M over seven years represented one of the highest average annual values in the history of the game. “We treated Cano with the utmost respect, and still respect him. We tried very hard to sign him and offered seven years, $175 million. If that’s not trying hard, I don’t know what is,” he said.
Levine added he does not begrudge Cano for taking the Mariners' deal, but added decade-long contracts such as Cano’s have typically backfired. “Ten-year deals for players over 30 haven’t worked out for us or for the industry,” Levine said. “If this was Mike Trout, I’d be recommending a 10-year contract."
Yankees Senior VP & GM Brian Cashman added, “Sometimes the business of baseball can create hard emotions. But there’s nothing personal here. He was a great Yankee, he’s a Hall of Fame-caliber guy, and we wish him the best.” As has been the Yankees’ mantra over the past year, team officials said that getting the '14 payroll under the $189M luxury tax threshold remains a goal, thought not a strict mandate. “We’ve still got a shot. As we’ve said all along, it’s a goal, but only as long as it’s consistent with a championship team,” Levine said.
