When I first heard this, I figured it was just idle talk. It seemed highly unlikely to me that Jason Giambi’s recent comments – mainly "I was wrong for doing that stuff" – could get his contract voided. But with MLB now investigating, it’s starting to become a possibility.
Brian Cashman is still interested in getting out from under the contract. The Yanks tried to void the deal before, when Giambi was coming off an uncharacteristic .721 OPS. Even with an excellent performance over the last two seasons, no one wants to pay Giambi $47MM for 2007-08 (’09 buyout included).
The Yankees did manage to void Aaron Boone’s contract because he got hurt playing basketball, so you never know. The pickle will be that Giambi’s contract doesn’t have language specifically referring to steroid use.
Truly odd would be to see the Yankees void Giambi’s contract, only to turn around and trade for Todd Helton. I suppose if reduced to $60MM over five years, Helton’s contract looks slightly better than Giambi’s.
Don’t do it. Helton is washed up at this point.