With Joe Girardi's future in limbo, the Yankees are looking to extend the manager, who has led the team since 2008, while the Chicago Cubs have reportedly shown great interest in trying to sway him from the Big Apple to the Windy City.
According to ESPN, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman plans to meet with Girardi over lunch Wednesday in hopes to iron out a contract that will give Girardi, who reportedly wants to stay in New York, a significant raise to keep donning the Yankees pinstripes. Girardi has generated interest from outside teams, most notably the Cubs, but ESPN has reported that Cashman has declined to say whether or not Girardi will receive permission from the team to talk to Chicago, who fired manager Dale Sveum on Monday after a second straight last-place season under his tutelage his failure in handling young talent.
Girardi would need permission to speak with Chicago from Cashman because his contract runs until Oct. 31, but ESPN reports that the Yankees are hesitant to offer Girardi permission to speak with the Cubs as they hope they can work out a deal to retain Girardi's services before the Oct. 31 expiration date.
Girardi speaking with the Cubs could also lead to the manager receiving more leverage in negotiations with New York, serving as more motivation for Cashman to not grant permission.
Cashman declined to speak about whether he would or wouldn't grant Girardi permission to meet with the Cubs.
"He is obviously under contract," Cashman said, according to ESPN. "And we have an interest in clearly trying to keep him."
Another possibility for Girardi would be a hiatus from managing to return to the booth to broadcast games, which the Yankees skipper spoke about Sunday. Cashman told ESPN that he had coffee with Girardi on Monday to reiterate to him that the GM wanted him to stay in New York, and Cashman said he left Monday's meeting thinking that the feeling was mutual, but more will be found out after Wednesday.
"I think he likes it here," Cashman said per ESPN, which reported that the GM is looking to give Girardi more than the $3 million per year three-year pact he's currently on. "We are going to give him a real good reason to stay and he has earned that through his six years."
Girardi, who won the 2006 Manger of the Year award with the Marlins, led the Yankees to a World Series title in 2009, but this year things were disappointing in the Bronx as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and finished with an 85-77 record and in fourth place. He is an Illinois native and former Cubs player, so a move there would make sense, though Chicago hasn't listed Girardi as its only target for the position.
Girardi has plenty of options for 2014 and could end up in the broadcast booth or managing the Yankees or Cubs, or he could even end up somewhere else entirely.
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