Though the Yankees remain the odds-on favorite to employ star second baseman Robinson Cano for the foreseeable future, GM Brian Cashman has reached out to Omar Infante as a fall-back option, report George A. King III and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Cashman was vague when approached for comment by the Post, and there is no reason to believe that this report indicates any change in Cano's status.
Infante, who played the last two seasons with the Tigers, is represented by Mato Sports Management. The interest from the Yanks is a second bit of good news for his open market status, since we just learned that the team signing him will not be required to give up draft pick compensation to do so. (Of course, the $14.1MM payday he could have had on a one-year deal might also have been enticing.)
The soon-to-be 32-year-old put up an excellent .318/.345/.450 line in 476 plate appearances last year, leading MLBTR's Tim Dierkes to peg his free agent value at three years and $25MM. But that number could rise if Cano bucks expectations by spurning the Yanks and signing with a team that does not have an obvious need at the keystone, leaving New York amongst the clubs vying for the market's second-best second bagger. That is probably the best case scenario for Infante, who otherwise will likely market his services to teams, like the Royals, that figure to dabble in the mid-tier market.
