The Yankees want to re-sign Mariano Rivera to a one-year deal, but the closer wants a two-year contract worth about $18MM per season, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of SI.com reported on Friday that Rivera was looking for a two-year deal and it now appears that the 40-year-old wants a raise from his 2010 salary of $15MM.
Like longtime teammate and fellow free agent Derek Jeter, Rivera will likely return to New York, but there's no guarantee that negotiations will go smoothly for either player. With 559 regular season saves, a career 2.23 ERA, strong peripherals and a history of relatively good health, Rivera has considerable bargaining power. The Yankees can point to Rivera's age – he turns 41 in a week – and suggest a one-year deal is fair, but Rivera has posted ERAs below 2.00 and been an All-Star each season from 2008-10.
smart plan for the yanks. although, Mo is the greatest closer of all-times and a future Hall of Famer. Mo holds all the leverare
With Soriano still being available, Mo doesn’t have that much leverage.
If you want Mo logging his 600th save in another Jersey, then yea he doesn’t have that much. Otherwise, he’s got it all. The Yankees put themselves between a rock and a hard place giving out such massive contracts. The actual Yankees now just want what they should have coming to them as they compare to the athletes that got it. Had those contracts not been given out, this discussion of $18MM for Mo and 5 years for Jeter wouldn’t even be happening right now.
as much as i hate the yankees rivera deserves a multi contract and a raise. he is the best closer of all time and is still proving it at his age. i wouldnt mind having him on my team.
as to jeter…. hes overpaid and dont deserve more than 6mil a year as per stats which are on decline and didnt have that great of numbers this past year.
currently over rated n never deserved a gold glove this year.
SIGN CLIFF LEE!
So the Yankees can continue their extreme capitalistic dominance in terms of payroll over the rest of Baseball?
Yea ima yankee fan I love their dominance. Spend spend spend omg were breaking all the rules right, were not allowed to buy cliff lee or have our payroll at 200 mil cause all of baseball can’t do that right lol
Fess up – it was your mom that clicked “Like” on this one, right?
oh wow kid ur not funny at all…just gotta love the yankee haters haha 🙂 get a life…..I bet ur one of those haters who sits by his computer and waits for a yankee article
I bet you’re just one of those “fans” that likes them because they win.
Lol no not even I live in NY so thts been my team my whole life if u don’t believe oh well idc….at least I kno the yankees spending just pissed you off 🙂 I have nothin else to say except I hope the yankees buy who ever and what ever they want its all fair until there’s a salary cap :p
I don’t care that you live in NY, just because they’ve been “your” team your whole life doesn’t make you a better fan than the 6 year old who just watched his first game at Yankee stadium or at Fenway..The Yankees’ spending doesn’t piss me off at all, cause that’s just what they’re going to do. Yankees fans don’t piss me off, it’s just the ones like you
Ok then I piss you I have no problem at all with that …my comment was for the people who complained if u dnt complain then happy for you but dnt say I piss u off cause tht for the people who sit there n act like the yankees cheat if you dnt. Like what I say u have a delete button…I also sont remember saying I’m a better fan then 6yrs old but then that would be you puttin words n my mouth.
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Tomorrow morning I am going to murder your English teacher.
already jumped off a cliff
LOL no ones mad. Everyone just laughs because of your no talent front office that just wrecklessly spends money and then gets stuck in this situation. Steinbrenners net worth at death was 1 billion. Their funds aren’t endless. They recover faster then any team in any other sport… sure. But the way that any baseball fan sees things is numbers comparison. And by numbers comparison from dollars spent to championships won, its disgraceful. I’d be willing to do the math and say that the Yanks spent as much between their 2001-2009 World Series drought, as the Cubs have in their century long drought.Personally, it doesn’t bother me at all. It just makes me snicker that it took MLB like 15 years to admit there was a problem lol. Remind you of any other situations? *cough* steroids *cough* *cough* Hgh *cough* performance enhancers *cough*Ahhhh now I feel better.
Yes, the Yankees spend too much money, but I think it’s harsh to call their front office “no talent.” They’ve built an excellent farm system that has produced many of their current and future stars.
You gotta point with that there moneys not endless lol
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I love how when you started this argument you were at home or on a land line … but felt the need to take it on your phone as it heated up
i would bash your comment but it would be too easy to see right through and notice that its all jealousy!!!!
What am I jealous of huh? Go ahead really…what am I jealous of cause last time I checked let’s see Ima yankee fan, Idc what they spend if they wana buy who ever they can…so what am I jealous of cause I kno I sure love when they spend money to make sure we can win year in year out, they don’t lose, they make the post season every year, they compete so wth am I jealous about..what I’m suppposed to be like other n complain wth…do you see me saying bad stuff bout the team so get out of here n get a life …dique “jealous”
You say that as if it’s a bad thing. Last I checked, we’re a capitalist country, not a socialist one.
Baseball is a great sport. As a Baseball fan you don’t want to see the Yankees get every good player.
Unfortunately I think many yankees fans would not care if they had a lineup consisting of the top 9 hitters and a rotation of the top 5 pitchers…I dont see why they cant just create a salary cap and floor…it would somewhat level the playing field.
Because the Players Union does not agree to it, that’s why. Ever know why the 1994 strike happened?
Like you and mostly everyone else, I agree there should be a cap, but there will be no agreement, and a salary floor is needed as much
Speaking of salary cap, it’s pretty funny how this year the NFL has no salary cap, yet the richest owner and team is one of the worst teams in the NFL (despite winning 2 straight)
You do know capitalist countries exploit the weaker ones right?
lol
Glenn Beck, tis you?
But MLB is not is not a free-market capitalist system. If it were, there would be 6 or 7 teams in New York alone. This is why sports leagues are subject to congressional oversight, because by their very nature, they violate all sorts of anti-trust laws. Major league baseball does not allow other teams to move to New York, so how much should the Yanks or Mets pay for that geographical monopoly?
Well, if people would watch the small(er) market teams, ala the world series this year, other teams would generate that type of revenue as well. Any one who complains and doesn’t support those other teams needs to STFU. Seriously.
Fidel is that you?
You mean negotiating with Jeter and Rivera will be:
-Start relatively far apart
-Talk
-Meet somewhere in the middle
-???
-Profit!
Just like every other negotiation in the last 30 years? Color me shocked.
2/36, make it happen
I have no problem giving Mo 2 years but why does he deserve a raise when he’s already the highest paid closer by far.
its only by 3million. K-rod makes 12mil, rivera made 15mil
So what does that mean? Is a mandate that we have to make him the highest paid closer by at least $6 mil over the #2? That’s just being greedy Mo!
Isn’t greed the entire Yankees organizational strategy? Can’t exactly fault Rivera for trying to get himself a bigger piece of that pie.
Is it greed or is it trying to field the best team you can using all of your resources? I thought the goal was to win and not necessarily appease the rest of the mlb owners? As long as they make their fans happy and don’t brake any laws then so be it.
I don’t any player for wanting the most money but I do fault them when they are already being apid considerably more than what the market value is. My point is that Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, Posada and Arod seem to be asking for more because the calendar has passed another year rather than based on anything tangible. The Yankees are already paying the “Yankee premium” by at least 20-30%.
I’m an A’s fan, and I think the financial system in baseball sucks….with that said here are some random thoughts thrown out in no particular order.
I were Jeter or Mo, I’d hold my ground. The Yankees made $441 million in revenue in 2009, $171 million more than the #2 team, the Mets, and nearly $300 million more than the last place Marlins. They have a lot more to lose by alienating their fans. Could the loss of Jeter cost the Yanks $40 million in revenue? Jeter and Mo have played a huge part in making this team the financial juggernaut that it has become over the last 15 years. Sure, a lot of that had to do with factors out of their control, like the explosion of the cable industry, and the entertainment industry in general, but bottom line, they were in on the ground floor of this explosion, and I’d want as big a chunk of that $441 million as possible. Why should the Steinbrenners rake in all the benefits of their massive location advantage?
I don’t get it. It’s widely accepted that both Jeter, Mo and Posada are paid more than any other team would pay them. That being acknowledged why are people acting as if the Yanks aren’t ALREADY paying them a premium for their Yankee legacy? It’s not like their performance has been better since the last deal so a performance hike is inorder? Quite the opposite actually. Yanks are holding the line because while they have no problem paying the 50-100% above market value premium they don’t want it to balloon to 100-150% ‘just cuz.
lol dude your not giving him anything its not your team or your money you just watch like a puppet
So. Aren’t we all? Don’t we all spend our money to fill our teams stadium to capac….oh wait. Rays fan. Ummm…don’t we all watch on tv and support our teams who get paid thru advertisements?
People say “we” when talking about their favorite team. Get over it. It damn sure dosen’t require four (and counting) posts from you trying to chop them down.
I guess things are slow there.
jamie moyer got a 2 year deal at age 44, rivera deserves whatever he wants.
yeah, by the same guy who gave Ryan Howard that great extension and traded Cliff Lee for scraps to later trade for Oswalt.
not sure Jamie Moyer (a non-closer) has anything to do with Mo whatsoever.
Under what circumstances does Roy Halladay qualify as “scraps”?
OK, I understand (and agree with) offering Jeter only three years but if Mo wants two years, give the man two years. He has been rock solid and there is no better alternate.
18 mil a year for a closer is pure insanity, Mariano Riveria or not.
To me, Mo is a no brainer. He’s still playing at an all-star level not like Jeter.
Why not convert AJ Burnett into the closer and bring up Brackman for the rotation.
Let Jeter and Rivera walk.
id rather banuelos or betances than brackman. and u need control to be a closer.
Burnett’s fastball will be better in relief. He’ll be fine with that pitch alone.
that’s 1 expensive reliever !
Yeah but Riveras asking for more then AJ makes per year so its a win win lol.
Not really, AJ’s locked up for 3 more years at 16.5 mil.. thats 50 million over 3 years for an unproven closer… seems a bit much to me, even by yankee standards
yeah Farnsworth was successful with just a strong fastball. Ill say it again, you need control to be a closer.
No offense but I can’t believe safari or vinnieg really took that serious. AJ as a closer? Really? Ehhhh no?
This is news?
Well yeah, it sort of is…
A team wants to offer a 1 year deal to a 40 year old relief pitcher. Alert the press!
$18 million to record roughly 200 outs. Something is very, very wrong when you break it down that way.
I agree…It doesn’t make sense at all…I’d give him 10-15 at most and barely.
LOL. Yankees: All the drama of the Cubs without the losing…
They’re only willing to give Mo 1 year, but they’ll give Jeter 3?
ok, I would like to ask Hal and Hank S. about their approach to 2 Yankee Legends. I’m gonna try not to curse…. Okay, here it goes.
The Yankees are willing to overpay Cliff Lee (32 year old lefty) 5 years, $120 million dollars, but, they won’t give Rivera his deserving second year on a contract or giving Jeter his fourth year. What they should be doing is giving Jeter a life time contract, incentives for each milestone he passes and an office job after retirement. And oh yeah… a fourth or fifth year. On to Rivera, you won’t give him the second year? Are you fracking kidding me? The greatest closer of all-time, the quiet Yankee. The man is a freak of nature. He’s 41 and still putting up ERA’s under 2. Dominant closer in the regular and post-season. I, I just don’t understand this at all. Hal and Hank are low blowing us fans and giving themselves a bad rep. Pay up to both Jeter and Rivera before we splurged money anywhere else. It’s the professional and the respectful thing to do. I wish Georgie would come down from his cloud and take this into his own hands.
It is the demands from fans like you who will ultimately make the Yankees mortal in about 4-5 years. Mariano will have retired, Posada will be a thing of the past, Jeter and AROD will be trying to prevent ground balls from getting into the outfield with their canes, Lee will be approaching 40…Sometimes you have to do what is best for the TEAM. So no, Jeter should not be given anything more than a 3 yr deal. Mo should deffinitly get a 2nd yr however.
It is not “professional and respectful” to pony up 5+ years with an absurd amount of dollars to Jeter, that is just foolish. It is doing what is best for the organization. It would be professional and respectful of Jeter to realize this and suck it up since he has just completed a contract that awarded him $189 mil.
Nice to actually see the Yankees being somewhat responsible actually. Let me get thsi straight – Hank and Hal should just acquiese to whatever their demands are because of past accomplishments? I get that they will be overpaid and all, but both sides need to be reasonable here. 3/45 for Jeter and 1/15 for Rivera are more than reasonable deals.
Rivera deserves 2 years. Consider his health proves to be no concern so far, why shouldn’t he get two. How much per year? That is a harder question.
I think you’re overreacting.I think we all are. Until I hear a Yankee publicly say they have a problem giving Mo 2 years I’ll chalk it up to just chatter. Cliff Lee is at the top of his game right now and the Yanks should be able to squeeze a few great years out of him over the next 5. Jeter right now is short of an unknown and while I absolutely feel like the Yanks should take care of him and pay him market value + a legacy fee I feel that equates to a 3/$45 and at most 4/$64 deal. Jeter has to be willing to meet the Yanks half way.
Jeter means a lot to the Yanks and the Yanks mean a lot to Jeter. Jeter has gotten the better of them in the last 3 or 4 years and I think $15 mil is right in the middle of what he might get from others ($10 mil per) and what he made on his last deal ($18.9 mil avg). Negotiating and compromising is what’s needed and so far I don’t see any budge or move towards the middle from Team Jeter.
I can’t believe Jeter and Rivera really feel they are worth this kind of money at this point in their careers. The Yankees don’t owe them anything. In fact, it’s probably the opposite considering the inflated salaries they’ve carried as it is.
But hey, I’d love to see the Yankees blow their load on a couple of geezers.
As an A’s fan I envy your situation, in that the Yankees have more than enough money to make this happen, yet you feel so high and mighty to give them their credit. They both contributed to 5 WS teams and still compete at a high level, but the Yankees don’t owe them anything? I wish the A’s could sign their stars. Be happy your team can.
I assume you are a yankees fan because of your post name “pinstripes.” I apologize if you are not.
Actually, A’s fan, I’m a Padres fan. Pinstripes is a nickname of mine. I no doubt envy the Yankees for the resources they have. But I think it’s also funny that Jeter and Rivera at age 40 are going to put them over a barrel basically because they want to. You think they should be paid in the future for things they did in the past? They were compensated. This is not the Yankees kicking them to the curb. They’re offering them well above market contract still. What kind of performance would you expect from Jeter and Rivera at ages 53 and 64? I’m sorry but it is nowhere close to $40 million/year worth (which is btw the approx. payroll for my Padres in 2011).
Again, I apologize. After I wrote my semi-tirade, I realized you could be the fan of any number of teams and from your post you probably weren’t a Yankees fan. I do agree that Jeter doesn’t necessarily merit the contract he asks for, but I do believe the players have plenty of leverage too. Let me say this though, I was shocked to see Rivera asking 18 mil. That is insane. Please do this Yankees.
Yanks can argue that they showed their loyalty to Jeter by giving them the longest contract in Yankee history with a 10/$189 mil deal and made Mo the highest paid reliever @ 3/$45 at age 38. I mean they’ve been paying these guys the Yankee premium for quite sometime.
I cant stop thinking that the yankees should have given mo a 4th year, on his last contract. and posada should have only received a 3 year deal.
How do they not give Mo 2 years, but jeter 3? They did both of these guys wrong. Give jeter 15 per for 4 and Mo 30/2 and finish this so we can focus on lee. The sooner we sign them, the sooner we actually know what else we need.
Pay him.
Come on, I’m beginning to become p’od with these two and this is coming from a loyal, long time Yankee fan. Enough already with the money. I’m starting to believe these two neglect to realize they are part of something bigger, something that perhaps 1% of all baseball players will ever accomplish and that is be a one team first ballet hall of famer, but that doesn’t warrant higher salaries at their respective ages. I guess humble is overrated these days or perhaps both are watching too many episodes of desperate housewives. It’s apparent both deals will get done and contrary to the early post with comments from several writers saying the Yankees are handing this all wrong, well, I completely disagree. Yankee personal have been cordial, prompt and generous with their initial discussions. And the baseball writers should drop the Arod comparison. It’s irrelevant, has no bearing on either signing. Different time, different market(i.e. different financial view points in 2007), different person signing checks, and most importantly, different age we are working with here. Albeit overpaid, Arod will still be a very productive DH into his remaining years.
“I’m starting to believe these two neglect to realize they are part of something bigger, something that perhaps 1% of all baseball players will ever accomplish and that is be a one team first ballet hall of famer”
They’re both first-ballot hall of famers, and they achieve that status by their performance. Why should they care whether or not it’s for one team? It’s a good story. I personally enjoy seeing it, and in the case of a team like the Yankees the reality is that being part of that specific franchise has a lot of value beyond their salaries — but if it’s not important to them, so what?
I think the Yankees need to draw a hard line with Jeter. I’m not sure it needs to be at three years, but I wouldn’t go more than four. As far as average salary, $15MM per is more than fair. The problem with Jeter is that he had a really ordinary season last year, one that is not in line with his career. The Yankees are fearful that it is the start of his decline due to his age, and that fear is well-founded; Jeter is obviously pushing the idea that it was a blip on the radar of a career that well exceeds it. There’s no right or wrong answer; both have good points and both could very well end up being correct. But nobody knows who yet, and that uncertainty should have an effect.
I see no such excuse with Rivera. They’re basically saying “Mo, most relievers have declined long before they get to your age and even though you’ve shown no signs of it whatsoever, we want to base your contract on that concept.” And he, rightfully I think, is scoffing. Maybe most pitchers have declined by then, but then again most closers aren’t chasing the all time saves record or pitching to a sub-2.00 ERA for seven of the last eight years (and the last three) and a sub-3.00 ERA for fourteen of the last fifteen — a one year blip since his rookie year.
I think $18MM is too much for ANY reliever, closer or otherwise, but there is absolutely no reason to try to skimp on the years for Rivera. If he wants two years, he has more than earned them.
I find it odd that my favorite Yankees in Mo and Jeter are wanting raises and a few too many years(Jeter) when they are in their decline stages. A 2 year 30 Million dollar deal, and a 3 year 45 million deal is fair for Mo and Jeter, respectively. I seriously doubt they would get much more on the open market. But they’re everyone’s favourite Yankees, and if they can live up to their contracts at least with a season similar to 2009 for each of them, then maybe it will be worth it.
On the open market Mariano gets $10M MAX for ONE year.
Jeter would NEVER get one cent more than $3M/yr for 2 years.
Only a braindead GM would pay anything more than those numbers…. oh yeah Brian Cashman and Hank steinbrenner will.
$10MM for Rivera — maybe. Personally I think he could push up to $12-13MM, but I’ll give you this one.
But if you don’t think he could get 2-3 years if he asked for them, you’re deluding yourself. See my post above for just how dominant Rivera has been in his “decline.” Other pitchers typically decline long before this point — but the fact that he hasn’t is hardly something you can hold against him.
money is money a player wants his millions what do you expect
It will be much harder for the Yanks to try and discredit Mo than it has/will be for Jeter. Mo hasn’t had a bad season in his career.
Why are they reluctant… Rivera will probably still be a top 5 closer when he’s 65.
I’d like to see the yanks give Rivera a similar deal the Red Sox gave Wake. Basically a continually renewing mutual option.
I don’t mind the Yankees High Salary, but lets make it fair. Have the US Congress lift the Anti Trust exemption. then the Royal can move the New Jersey, The Rays can move to Manhattan.
Then you will see a even playing field.
Manhattan Rays lol
Yeah that worked out well for the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers.
Yankees would have to be retarded not to give him 2/18 if that’s all he’s asking.
No…he wants 18 mil PER season.
OK, my bad. 2/36 is not a good deal.
2/36
why should they, in the open market he gets One year 15 Mil
I’m not sure there are too many teams out there that would even give Mo 15.
He deserves 1/15 from the Yanks, but 18 a year is a bit much even for Yankee standards.
MO to the Angel’s
That’s low balling Rivera..he has had a great season and he deserves 2 years..its not like he is on the DL all the time..it shouldn’t matter if he is 41 years old..
The Yankees might as well give Mo a two-year deal since he’d ask for $20 million in 2012 as a FA.
surprising. I thought they’d offer 2 years/30 and it would be over real quick
I’m not sure what the issue is over his age. He’s a robot.
Jeter and MO feel entitled because they dished out an obnoxious amount of money to ARod..The guy is gonna make over 20mil when hes 42..now that was a bonehead move by the NYY FO…They bid against themselves on that deal and now the “True” yankees want the same love..I dont blame them one bit..And as far as the yankees spending habits, who cares what they spend..It took them 10 years of spending 200mil per year to finally win a championship..the sox won 2 in that time frame..Thats why this game is so great..
I’ve seen this guy pitch for 14 years. I can’t stand the Yankees but this guy is lights out almost every time he comes in. Every team and I mean every team would love to have him as their closer even at 41. Look at your team, is your closer better than him? I’m a Red Sox fan and I would take him now at 41! They have the money, I thought he should have gotten more the last contract. Look what they pay Burnett! Enough said.