The Giants have contacted Casey Close, the agent for Derek Jeter, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. However, the Giants are not seriously pursuing Jeter and there’s no evidence that a team other than the Yankees is bidding on the shortstop.
A rival executive tells Costa that he fully expects Jeter to re-sign in New York, even though his representatives are in contact with other teams. The Giants, who recently lost Juan Uribe to the rival Dodgers, are focusing on finding a shortstop. Though it's highly unlikely that the Giants sign Jeter, they do have a connection to him. When the Yankees drafted Jeter in 1992, current Giants GM Brian Sabean was their vice president of player development.
Jeter and the Yankees are far apart, though the team has made multiple proposals. GM Brian Cashman encouraged Close to talk to other clubs and it appears that the agent has acted accordingly.
DK57
This won’t even faze the Yankees.
Cobby Box
Bout time, I was starting to miss the “The Giants are all old men” jokes.
gmenfan
Yeah, winning the World Series will do that.
whyis thisrequired
no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
Vincent
if there could be anyway for me to hate derek jeter (yeah, that’s right – hate) than his current state it would be to see him dressed up as a pumpkin for the next few years.
the only redeeming factor would be the money lost by the giants, and teh fact that jeter’s numbers would diminish without the benefit of an all-star lineup surrounding him.
55saveslives
Sabean: How’s it goin’ Casey
Close: Pretty good
Sabean: Good, Good. Nice talkin’ to ya!
Close: You too!
Dial tone…….
Lincecum_Says_GSP
wow that made me cry… like x 10000000
speedoftime
absolutely hilarious for its truthfulness
BleacherBumSF
we all know in the end Jeter will stay a Yankee but it would be cool seeing him with the Giants
YourThirdGradeReadingLevel
As a Padres fan, I couldn’t agree more.
BleacherBumSF
as a Giants fan it feels great to say right now I don’t care what move we make because guess what? The San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series
P.S. thank you to your padres for choking
gmenfan
Jeter coming to SF is as about as likely as the Yankees agreeing to Jeter’s 5/$150M offer. Neither will come to fruition.
Oh, and yes, thank you Padres for throwing up all over yourselves in September. Much obliged !
Dave_Gershman
Not so sure he’ll remain a Yankee. Sorry
TwinsVet
I really, really hope Sabean tells Close “We’d gladly give you 5 years and $150M”. Just to make life harder for Cashman.
start_wearing_purple
Apparently they got a donation to sign Jeter from Jeter and Close.
DK57
absolutely, then the BoSox could begin haggling with Close as well.
Guest
yeah, because they don’t have enough of their own problems right now. Hit up the Boston Globe or Herald. Fans and some writers are practically rioting over there already, for the third time in two years. Engaging a Jeter negotiation, wouldn’t help at all.
jondogg2010
Then why make a posting for it if it’s not serious??? Hmmmmmmm
Dave_Gershman
Because this is MLBTR. The “R” stands for “rumors.” This is a rumor.
Kumar Plocher
Not to mention the fact that Close is Posey’s agent, so I’m sure the Giants talk to him every now and then for that reason alone. Nothing to see here. Move along.
nzmrmn
He’s too expensive but he’d fill the hole at SS perfectly.
dirtyjohnston
As a Dodger fan, nothing would make me happier than the Giants signing Jeter. For him to end up anywhere other than New York, it will probably be $20 mil/year. Might not be a larger waste of money out there right now than Derek Jeter. He is fast approaching “average”.
nzmrmn
As far as wastes of money go how about signing Juan Uribe for 3 years/$21 million?
dirtyjohnston
I’ll take Uribe at 3/$21 over Jeter at 4/$80 anyday
gmenfan
Yes, both are ridiculous ill-conceived contracts. The only difference being that one is the contrived speculation of rumormongers on the internet while the other was actually signed this morning. Have fun paying Uribe to play for another club by the end of 2012 !
Matt Richards
there is no way the Giants sign Jeter but IF they ever did, it wouldn’t be $20 mil a year. The Giants would not do that, so really I don’t even know why they contacted his agent, it’s just not going to happen, no one will pay that much money.
nzmrmn
This is the same team that signed Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand to 15 year/elebenty billion dollar contracts, dude.
Pike Parker
In the Giants’ defense, both of those guys were coming off outstanding seasons. Uribe didn’t do anything well this year other than hit a couple more home runs than he usually does. Giants fans should get down on their knees and thank God that Uribe wasn’t a free agent last year, or they would’ve probably given him 5/90 or something similarly insane.
EDIT: Okay fine, Uribe almost doubled his walk rate too. My bad.
AB
Uribe *was* a free agent last year. And the year before that. They went year-to-year with him and apparently wanted to do the same this offseason.
gmenfan
Ummm, exactly how many zeros does elebenty billion have ?
myname_989
Too many.
Kumar Plocher
“…I don’t even know why they contacted his agent…”
Close is Posey’s agent.
Pike Parker
Defensively, he’s only been better than average in two seasons, and quite below average the rest of his career. The consensus around baseball is that Jeter in the field is one of the five worst shortstops in the majors. Considering that SS is the second-most important defensive position, and that Jeter at the plate is nothing more than a slap-hitting singles machine (if those balls continue make it through the infield) he’d almost have to play for free to not be a liability. The only reason the Yankees are even offering him 3/45 is that he brings “intangibles” and is (was) a marketing wet dream.
MetsEventually
woah….double rainbow
wes W
All the way across!!
InvalidUserID
If they didn’t pony up to keep Uribe, I don’t think they’ll pay way more for Jeter who, sad to say, is only marginally better at this stage of his career.
arkeen
This is a complete non-story. If the Giants have the cash to trump the Yankees offer (3 yrs/45M) they would be going for Carl Crawford or someone who actually still a superstar.
This is probably just a leak by Close to try and get the Yankees worried, which has little to zero chance of working.
andrewyf
Close is just assuming Brian Cashman is as dumb as Ruben Amaro was when he got Ryan Howard one of the most undeserved free agency deals in baseball history.
He isn’t.
Lincecum_Says_GSP
Couldn’t agree more… if that type of money is availible they would be in the running for Crawford or even Beltre (moving Sandoval to 1B).
The only thing i could see making this rumor credible (which its not)… is a 1 yr/18-20 Million type deal. Even if that were the case its so far fetched for so many reasons thats its not going to happen.
jcsnotes
Agreed with arkeen, if the Giants have 15+ M to throw at one player, they’d certainly try to make a play for Carl Crawford before Jeter and fill in with replacement level talent at SS (E. Burriss, we’re talking about you.)
Motor_City_Bombshell
Oh my God, I see shades of Barry Zito’s and Aaron Rowand’s contracts all over again. Lock him up for 4/$100MM Sabean! 😉
mrmoss
12mil over 2 years should do it….sign him Sabean
DK57
haha, as if.
NYBravosFan10
I made a bet with someone earlier about when we were gonna hear these types of rumors but it’s erased because when the uribe thing turned from “close to signing” into “finalized” it resets the comments.
The_Bildebergers
yeah, wiped out a bunch of comments….MLBTR needs to fix that…had a good thread going and then dsappeared…
mwach1
“If the Giants have the cash to trump the Yankees offer (3 yrs/45M) they would be going for Carl Crawford or someone who actually still a superstar.”
Bingo. You can insert any team in place of the Giants and your statement still holds true. This is why Jeter needs to stop being a b*tch and accept the Yanks extremely generous offer so the Yanks can move on to other (more important) matters, like Lee.
Jeter calls himself team first, blah blah blah. He’s a crappy ‘captain’.
Kumar Plocher
He’s not a crappy Captain if he’s THIS captain:
uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Selfish
SmackSaw
This is perfect. He’s 37 and declining. He could sign with the Giants. Head over to Balco, get some “Clear” and “Cream” he could play for the next 5 years and break Pete Rose’s record for hits. It’s the Giant way.
gornie
i don’t know why i’m taking your bait but here goes:
clemens, a-rod, giambi, pettitte…the question isn’t where to begin but where to stop? yankees (or insert any team name here) fans act all high and mighty but you’re just as tainted as bonds — even more so, in fact, because you have world championships won by a bunch of exposed cheaters.
to even make such an assumption that jeter has been clean throughout his career is simply naive. the whole sport is tainted. jeter put up the same gaudy numbers during a time when nomar was juicing was juicing and a-rod was juicing…my goodness, how blind are yankees fans gonna be about this? nobody’s safe from the speculation. such a shame if jeter did it cleanly, but if we don’t know for sure then we have to make the same assumptions here that we make with anyone else.
RepOak
It’s funny how giants even think they have a shot at getting Jeter. Why in the hell would he want to go to S.F! Maybe because they know the giants are the only team that will overpay for older or overrated players “cough” zito, rowand
HowdIGetHere
“It’s funny how giants even think they have a shot at getting Jeter. Why in the hell would he want to go to S.F!”
Perhaps you’ve forgotten how the season ended. I’ll give you a reminder: the Giants won the World Series.
RepOak
And? The Yankees have won many world series titles with Jeter and made plenty of playoff appearances. They are pretty much in it every year. The giants are not. They had one good year. I’m not a Yankee fan but if you were Jeter who would you honestly play and finish Your career with? A team who Will probably be in it every year and where u can still get some at bats as a DH because your getting close to 3000 and getting to point in your career where you won’t be starting every game. Or the giants who won a world series, woohoo! (sarcastic)
HowdIGetHere
All I’m trying to say is chill out with the ragging on the Giants. The submission even says that the Giants interest isn’t serious. What’s more, Casey Close is also Posey’s agent. It’s not the first time Sabean has spoken to him, and it won’t be the last. Doesn’t mean anything. The only way I could actually see Jeter wearing orange and black is if he all of the sudden really doesn’t like the Yankees, because there’s no way Sabean gives him anything near the money he wants.
RepOak
Oh ok. A simple chill out wouldve been fine As well haha. I’m a A’s fan so I have to rag on the gi-cants
eponine
if the giants pay more than the yankees even marginally more or even the same, i wouldn’t be surprised if jeter took it. at this point, he might have a grudge against the yankees, plus this has been embarrassing for him.
The_Bildebergers
plus “Mr. Captain” seems to be all about the money and jealous of A-Rod as well…
Garrett
This will flat out never happen, but rather something for people to talk about. Does anybody actually believe that Jeter, who can go down as one of the greatest Yankees of all time, will actually leave the most storied franchise in baseball?
melonis_rex
It won’t hurt his reputation, and Cashman knows his limits. As long as the Yankees are back in the playoffs next year, nobody cares whether Jeter is wearing pinstripes or not.
bomberj11
If the most storied franchise in baseball doesn’t give pretty boy here what he wants…
Terry L
What I hate most about this rumor is that the Bay Area media is going to run with this story when there’s no story here.
Lincecum_Says_GSP
Doubtful… i dont think anyone is going to run with this story
RepOak
You mean the giants will run with this story! Just like they been running with the world series. They are just looking for a story to duel on. :alert: Giant fans the world series is over. We have now moved on to 2011 season. Let us remind you. This is a RUMOR. Hence mlbt”R”. Reality check Jeter will never go to S.F
The_Bildebergers
dude, from i’ve read on various SFG fan blogs and baseball sites, 90% of Giant fans DON’T WANT JETER at 3/$45 and prob not at 3/$30 either…he’s OVERRATED…
melonis_rex
YES PLEASE.
Derek Jeter won’t wear one red rally thong, he’ll wear TWO. That’s how much heart he has.
So… much… grit and heart and hustle and good stuff. Intangibles.
grebito
Jeter: Too old, too much money
Uribe was just right – – how do you replace his leadership and homeruns?
Now he’s gone and we have to SCRAMBLE to replace him. We will end up paying just as much for a known quantity – – stupid, stupid move Giants. Just when you had it all going you do this.
RepOak
Hey grebito, If there was a “like” button I would send you one haha. I feel the same way
gornie
uh, there is a like button. it’s the little thumbs up icon next to the post. i’d insult you more but you make yourself look bad enough without my help.how is $7m per year for 3 years for an aging overweight shortstop with zero plate discipline the recipe for success? at $3.5m for one year, uribe was a great move last year. at twice the annual salary, locked in for 3 years, there’s just no defending that when the team is looking at arbitration hearings for guys like jonathan sanchez and andres torres who had career years and are up for undisclosed raises. huff was brought back as the link to the 2010 clubhouse leadership. uribe is a necessary casualty and a good business decision.
bomberj11
I think Jeter needs to step back and realize how much money that actually is. Who the hell needs that sorta money anyway?
jeenyus245
the most I would offer Jeter would be 2yrs at 25mill
Steelslayer
What a greedy loser…didn’t he say that “winning was the most important” thing? or something like that. I am no Yankee fan, but he should take the money and quit being such a ego driven-money-grubber.
He needs to get over himself. He is old and heading downhill fast….I hope he takes it and acts like an anchor along with the rest of the old overpaid yankees
Jonathan Stone
I’d like to see the Yankees trade for Reyes; then tell Jeter to go pedal his 1.5 UZR and his tired old @ss on the market. 2/$25 tops from any other team.
gornie
1.5 uzr? get that sabrmetric crap outta here, he’s a reigning gold glove winner which is obvious proof that he’s the best defensive shortstop in existence.
John W. Shreve
It’s understandable that after losing Uribe, the Giants would shop the shortstop market….oh, that’s right. Jeter can’t play short anymore, not that anyone except he, his mom and Joe Torre ever thought he could.
gornie
and the voters for american league gold glove every year. the same guys who voted vizquel the top defensive ss for a dozen years or so. i’m so disturbed just typing this.
baycommuter
Damon and Torre left after getting low-balled. Giants are doing Close a favor by showing some interest … only way he ends up there is if Team Jeter is as suicidal as Boras and Damon were.
northsfbay
If the Giants won’t match Uribe’s offer, they certainly won’t top the Yankees offer for Jeter. Jeter can live in a dream world until March, then take the Yankees offer.
TopDeckBum
It’s not that they wouldn’t match his offer. Haven’t you heard? Uribe is barely High School JV level talent according to the fans who he helped bring a WS title to.
gornie
by this reasoning we should sign cody ross to a 7yr $140m extension. and edgar renteria. i really can’t believe how many people fail to understand that there’s a limited amount of dollars to spend on player salaries, and you can’t just throw money around like the yankees when you’re not making the kind of revenue the yankees do.
northsfbay
If the Giants won’t match Uribe’s offer, they certainly won’t top the Yankees offer for Jeter. Jeter can live in a dream world until March, then take the Yankees offer.