Yesterday, Yankees GM Brian Cashman spent almost an hour talking to the New York media about the offseason ahead. Cashman said that the club has made or will make a significant offer to Robinson Cano, but one has to imagine that the second baseman won't view the club's opening proposal in that light. Cano and baseball's newest power agent are reportedly seeking a deal in excess of $300MM while the Yankees are just months removed from pitching a contract similar to David Wright's eight-year, $138MM pact. Here's more out of the Bronx..
- After watching Russell Martin go yard twice in last night's win over the Reds, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wonders how the Yankees ever let him get away. The Pirates wound up signing him for $17MM over two years while the Bombers batted around "concepts" of a $12-$14MM deal without officially making an offer.
- Cashman has a full plate of problems to deal with this winter, writes David Lennon of Newsday. The GM credited ownership in yesterday's presser for spending the cash to go out and get Vernon Wells and Alfonso Soriano to help cover up for the club's injuries, but those were nothing more than short-term fixes. Lennon also isn't optimistic about their chances of keeping Robinson Cano given the gap in negotiations.
- As the Yankees' old core moves out of the picture, the Bombers don't have a new core to take their place, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger writes. There doesn't appear to be a lot of upper-level help as the Yankees didn't see strong seasons from catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielders Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin, and Mason Williams. It's a problem that'll hurt them as they try to stay under the $189MM threshold.
- Alex Rodriguez's representatives presented a case to arbitrators that argues, in part, that he was tricked into taking steroids, sources tell Teri Thompson, Michael O'Keeffe, Michael Red, and Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News.
