Is Robinson Cano part of the New York Yankees plans for next season? If what team president Randy Levine said on Wednesday is any indication, it could go either way.
Asked if the Yankees will do all they can to sign Cano, the Yankees star second baseman who will hit the free agent market this offseason, Levine's comments sounded hopeful that the two sides can reach an agreement this winter, but were also very interesting.
"Hopefully he's a Yankee," Levine said per NBC Sports. "Nobody is a re-sign at all costs [player], but we want him back and we feel good about negotiating something with him. But nobody is a re-sign at any cost."
Cano, who will undoubtedly receive a contract somewhere from a team in need of a second baseman with a big bat this offseason, could command a large deal this winter and the Yankees have made it clear they are looking to stay under the luxury tax and stick to a budget, but will try to work something out when negotiations begin following the end of the 2013 baseball season.
Cano, 30, is also getting up there in age which could limit how much money the Yankees are willing to put into him.
Cano delivered a game-tying single to tie last night's game with the Baltimore Orioles at four runs apiece and the Yankees went on to win the game 7-5 and keep their wildcard hopes alive. A video of the single can be seen here.
Cano leads the Yankees this year in homers (26), RBIs (98), batting average (.308), slugging (.510) on-base percentage (.382) and OPS (.893), in a team-high 144 games during a season which the Yankees really needed someone to step up due to the many injury set-backs New York has faced due to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, on top of other players, missing significant time.
While Levine states that Cano isn't a re-sign at any cost player, if the Yankees didn't have him this year the team most likely wouldn't be in a position to make a wildcard push with his bat missing from the lineup.
The Yankees (77-68) are two games out of the second wildcard spot currently held by the division rival Tampa Bay Rays (78-65) and are just a half game behind the rival Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, who have an identical 77-67 record. Cano has had a lot to do with the team's march towards trying to clinch a playoff berth, but it's uncertain if his baseball future will pan out in the Bronx
For his career, Cano is hitting .308 with 203 homers and 813 RBIs through 1,358 games over nine years.
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