UPDATE: Hank Steinbrenner confirms the offer as 3/45. Not sure what Rivera is waiting for…no need to haggle over a no-trade clause since Rivera would be a 10 and 5 player.
According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, the Yankees have a very aggressive offer on the table for closer Mariano Rivera: three years, $45MM. $15MM a year for a closer! It’s unheard of. Billy Wagner makes $10.5MM annually, but he signed two years ago. Rivera’s next deal could inflate Francisco Cordero’s contract.
If Rivera pushes for a higher average annual salary or a fourth year, I think the Yankees would be right to pass no matter what kind of media backlash they might receive.
