Yankees to Offer Record Setting Deal to A-Rod

Only the Yanks should try to sign Arod...

30 bones a year would pretty much decimate any other teams payroll, except maybe the Red Sox.

I'd much rather sign Torii Hunter, Kosuke Fukudome AND a reliever like Linebrink for that money.

This is exactly what the Yankees basically said they will do. Make an extension offer, give him no reason to opt out, and force him to decide between staying in NY, and not, or, staying, or running away scared of NY.

That is what they are making it down to, that is why they won't sign him if he opts out. They refuse to be held hostage.

Seems quite smart to me.

I have to disagree with your disagreement...lol

Arod is better than all three of those players, but only the Yanks can truly afford to pay 30 mill a year plus field a team. My Giants proved that one player doesn't make a team.

Plus if Arod signs a 10 year contract then gets hurt, that team is screwed.

Torii 5/75
Fukudome 4/40
Linebrink 1/3

Torii - could bat 1st/3rd/4th/5th

Fukudome - could bat 3rd/5th

Not as big as a risk IMHO

If they dollars end up being what is reported then A-Rod would be foolish to opt out.

That would be a huge gamble that another team would step up and pay more than $30m/year over 8 years. Cashman has already said, numerous times, that if A-Rod opts out then the Yanks won't bid on his services. What teams are left that want to drop $30+m on a guy?

BoSox want Lowell back at nearly 1/3rd of A-Rod's price. Angels don't want to pay someone 2x's what they pay Vlad. Giants have so many more holes to fill. Cubs have Ramirez. Just go down the list and you will realize there aren't a lot of great fits.

I stand by my earlier prediction that if the Yanks don't resign him the best A-Rod will get will be more years at approximately the same contract value - something like an 8y/$210m deal.

i agree with everything you said, except for solid defense. but im sure he is going to opt out regardless, besides, Scott Boras will convince him like a devil in his ear

Forget about A-Rod. I'm more concerned about who will catch and close if Posada and Rivera don't resign. I think that's a little higher priority than a post-season choker.

He'll probably sign an extension at the last minute with the Yankees, with Boras trying to milk every last dollar (or an extra year or two) out of them until the deadline.

My guess is that he averages about $30M a year, which would put the extension at 5 years, $159M.

Knowing Boras, they will only opt out if he KNOWS a team will top that.

And regardless of what people say, if it comes down to a million a year, I think ARod is going to stay where he's comfortable (i.e. NY, if you believe him).

So basically another team would have to top NY's offer by at least 2 or 3 million per year - and I just don't see that happening.

Anyway - obvious teams that might bid on A-Rod if he opts out - Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, Tigers - I think that's still enough to have a bidding war, even if the Yankees and Mets are out.

But this is the genuis of the Yankees insisting that they will not bid again if he opts out - if Scott Boras suggests the extension has to be so many years or so many dollars and then A-Rod opts out and gets that, then there is case for collusion.

04forever, since when has wanting to get the most money you can equal to being a bad guy.

The thing about not opting out is this: the Yankees have the biggest payroll plus the benefit of Texas money, so their extension offer has a very good chance of being the best offer he'll ever see. To further that, the Yankees have stated that they will not pursue A-Rod if he is a free agent. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen, but Steinbrenner IS stubborn if nothing else. So, if he opts out and cannot match the deal the Yankees offered him on the market, it seems foolish. I think in the long run, whether or not he wants to play in New York will play a bigger factor than people realize.

This whole a-rod contract business is fascinating. He's good but certainly not worth 30m a year. No one is. Here's some speculation, what kind of contract do you think Barry Bonds would have gotten had he been a free agent after his 72 home run season?

nrmax88, i didnt say the money made him a bad guy, i dont like his ethics, he is an unclassy player and represents alot of what is wrong with baseball, the money is just more salt on the wound. He already has a monster deal, and lets be honest, if he didnt have as good a year as he did this year, would we even be talking about this right now. If he gets 30 million per year until he is 43, then that proves something has gone horribly wrong in the baseball world. yankee fans are the ones that are going to be picking up the check anyway, higher ticket prices and $11 dollar beers, just on account of him, its not friggen fair to the fans, and its not like this guy is roberto clemente, hes no role model on or off the field, a player like Jeter deserves that money, a man who is selfless for the shake of his team and actually can hit the ball in october. I dont know i dont want to rant and i know its to late, i just wish this deal couldnt happen period, its not right, its just not right, is any LIVING player worth that?

Now you all believe me. This was just a big bluff by Cashman.

I dont wana here jack shyt about is what is fair to yankee fans. What isnt fair is that Joe Torre is no longer managing the team because the fans bitch and complain about how Torre is over the hill and how they have to win the WS every year. When you operate that way, then you will pay whatever the hell they want you to pay for a beer. You cant hear the yankee fans complaining that we want the best players to win a WS, then complain that the god dam nachos grandes cost 8 dollars. Cant have it both ways. You wana watch a perennial world series contender? Go watch the yankees and deal with the prices. You want to enjoy a nice game with cheap food and beer? Go and join the other 50 people at Dolphin stadium and watch the marlins.

well gents, i hate to say i told you so, but i was right, he opted out of his contract, it was announced during the world series in the 7th inning. Proves i was right, not a player of class, just money. as for nrmax88, your either alex himself or his mother, admit it, i was right in the end, if your a yankees fan then i wish you luck, from your point of view, your going to need it now