Over the last few days, we've seen reports from SI.com's Jon Heyman and ESPN's Jayson Stark indicating that the Yankees were ready to let star shortstop Derek Jeter play out the rest of his contract before worrying about resigning him. Jeter will make $21MM next season in the final year of the monster ten year, $189MM contract he signed prior to the 2001 season.
Still extremely productive, Jeter has rebounded from a substandard 2008 campaign to hit.330/.396/.474 in just over 600 plate appearances this year. The 35-yr old has even managed to improve his usually poor defense, checking in with a +6.8 UZR this year, good enough for third best among shortstops with at least 900 innings at the position. He's a legitimate MVP candidate after finishing in the top three on the ballot twice before.
Assuming he stays healthy and has a typical Derek Jeter season in 2010 (.317/.387/.459 career batting line), what kind of contract do you think would be appropriate for him heading into his age 37 season? Is three years at say, $15MM per year a good starting point?
