Yankees, Jeter at an Impasse?

Brian Cashman has told Derek Jeter to feel free to find a better deal if he can. The Yankees have offered Jeter a reported three-year contract at about $15 million per season. Jeter just finished a ten-year $189 million contract that paid him a reported $21 million in 2010. Jeter is coming off the worst offensive performance of his career and the Yankee captain’s defensive prowess has also diminished despite winning another gold glove this past season.

The real issue may stem from the fact that the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year $275 million deal in 2007. A-Rod has shown no particular allegiance to the Yankees. On the other hand, Jeter has been a Yankee throughout his entire career, having been drafted and come up through their farm system, rising to team captain, an honor reserved for only the most exclusive pinstripers such as Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth.

The Yankees are looking at these negotiations strictly as a business deal and feel that the 36-year-old Jeter is not worth more than the $15 million per season for three seasons that they have offered him. Jeter is asking for a six-year deal that would be more in line with the contract signed by A-Rod. Hal Steinbrenner, currently in charge of the Yankees, feels that his brother Hank overpaid A-Rod three years ago and they have no intention of making the same mistake.

If Jeter decides to test the market, it is not likely that he’ll find any takers willing to surpass the $45 million three-year offer that the Yankees have made. It’s possible that the Yankees could tack on an additional year to insure that Jeter finishes his career in New York. If so, Jeter saves face and everyone wins. We’ll see how it plays out.