Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter’s Position

By | at

Derek Jeter was an above-average defensive shortstop last year, but he turns 36 in June and he plays a demanding position, so the Yankees have to be prepared to react in case Jeter's defense deteriorates. To find out how the Yankees might proceed, ESPN.com's Buster Olney polled scouts, talent evaluators and a former GM on Jeter's future. Here are some highlights:

  • One talent evaluator believes the Yankees would be willing to talk about trading Robinson Cano. This would create an opening at second base, which would allow Jeter to move to the right side of the infield.
  • Jeter could be an average first baseman in the opinion of one scout, but Mark Teixeira has first base covered for the Yankees.
  • Another scout believe Jeter will end up in left field. He may not have the speed to play center, but could probably handle left.
  • Former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn't see Jeter switching positions for now and can imagine him playing shortstop for another five years.

Does it matter yet? Jeter still plays shortstop well and he's not going anywhere now. But he's entering a contract year and his future position will presumably have an impact on the contract talks that take place between the Yankees and Jeter's agent, Casey Close, have after the season.

Details Emerge About Hechevarria

By | at

Jorge Ebro at the Nuevo Herald interviewed newly signed Blue Jays prospect Adeiny Hechevarria in Spanish, digging out a few fresh insights concerning both the signing and the 19-year-old Cuban shortstop's potential.

Hechevarria avoids saying directly that the Blue Jays aren't the team of his teenage dreams, but he lets slip that he "played shortstop for Santiago imagining that it was Yankee Stadium." Nevertheless, Ebro notes that Hechevarria turned down an offer from the Yankees in the hopes of rising more quickly to prominence in Toronto's system. The New York Post's George King II wrote three days ago that the Yankees were likely willing to offer similar money to Toronto, and more recently, the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott quoted an unnamed executive as saying that "the word in the scouting community" was that the Yankees' offer was larger Toronto's winning bid of $10MM for four years.

Shortstop for the Blue Jays has been a sorespot in terms of both reliable production and reliable attendance since back when the team was a perpetual contender, as last year's .789 OPS by Marco Scutaro was the highest by a Blue Jays shortstop logging at least 500 PAs since Tony Fernandez in 1987. Over those ensuing years, other AL East teams have built their lineups around the likes of Cal Ripken, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, and Miguel Tejada. Even the Rays have been able to bank on shortstop with more reliability than the Jays, as Tampa Bay's recent history has witnessed the best years of Julio Lugo's career and the arrival of Jason Bartlett.

But what to expect from Hechevarria himself? In the absence of minor league stats and scouting reports, Ebro's sources reach for comparisons. One scout labels him "an Alfonso Soriano who can defend," while another describes him as more polished than last year's highly regarded Cuban shortstop prospect, Jose Iglesias, who will start the season in Double A Portland for the Red Sox. Comparisons between the two prospects are seemingly inevitable, for reasons of age (Iglesias is 20), nationality, contract size, and because Hechevarria got the nod over Iglesias at short for the Cuban team at the World Baseball Junior Championships in 2007.

Elliott at the Toronto Sun quotes an AL executive who calls Hechevarria "a much better player" than Iglesias, while another official from a team who made an offer to Hechevarria labeled him "probably more of a fielder than a hitter" for the time being, albeit one who will be "pretty offensive when it all plays out." Like Iglesias, Hechevarria will likely start out at Double A, notes Dave Perkins at the Toronto Star.

All comparisons with other prospects aside, though, Ebro's article starts out by comparing Hechevarria's potential to the next few years of his idol, Jeter, and writers in New York have noted the comparison as well. Mike Vaccaro at the New York Post most recently wrote that Hechevarria was widely believed to be "earmarked for the Yankees," and that that missing out on Hechevarria shows the team's commitment to an iconic shortstop who "will have to morph from shortstop into either a left fielder or a full time designated hitter" by the end of his next contract—especially if that contract stretches to six years, as Jon Heyman recently posited.

According to some, though, Hechevarria's future isn't even at short. One scout tells Elliott that the prospect's skills will eventually put him in the outfield, while Vaccaro notes that Hechevarria's bat could translate well to second base or center field, just one more reason why the newest Blue Jay "made all the sense in the world" for the Yankees.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Braves, Cardinals

By | at

March goes in like a lion, but the lion is cut when the rosters get trimmed to 25…

  • Benjamin Kabak at River Avenue Blues takes a look at how the Yankees can include an ownership stake in Derek Jeter's next contract.
  • Former Yankee Melky Cabrera is also in the news, with MLB.com's Mark Bowman detailing how his game translates in the National League. As should surprise no one who has watched both leagues lately, the move figures to help Melky.
  • Brian Walton of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat has a rundown of the Cardinals' 21 new signings from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Tops among the new signings appears to be Amauris Capellan, an outfielder who has drawn comparisons to Raul Mondesi.
  • Taiwan Baseball has an update on Min-Tzu Chen, an outfielder-turned-pitcher three months ago, who is now sporting a fastball at 90-93 MPH. According to the site, the Royals and Padres have both made offers in the $150K-$200K range.
  • Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox may have found something special in offseason acquisition Boof Bonser.

Heyman On Adrian, Jeter, Hamilton

By | at

SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with a discussion about Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who he feels is likely to be shopped hard at this year's trade deadline.  I've noted before that Gonzalez's market should not be limited to big-spending clubs, as he's set to earn just $10.25MM for 2010-11.  It's fitting that Heyman believes as many as 10 to 12 teams already inquired, including the Red Sox, Mets, Mariners, and Dodgers.  On to Heyman's other rumors…

  • Heyman spoke to "two executives from competing teams" who believe Derek Jeter "could ask for a six-year deal."  The idea is that a six-year extension would take Jeter to age 42, as Alex Rodriguez's contract does.
  • Heyman notes that Josh Hamilton turned down a four-year, $24MM offer from the Rangers last year.  The security might've made sense for Hamilton given his injury problems.
  • One executive Heyman spoke to believes the availability of decent free agents, perhaps continuing into the season, could reduce trading.

Odds & Ends: Jeter, Marlins, Fielder, Aurilia, Boras

By | at

If you're in the Northeast, here are some links to check out while you take a break from shoveling…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Adrian, Howard, Jeter

By | at

A year ago today, the Giants renewed reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's contract for $650K. One year and a second Cy Young later, San Francisco bought out Lincecum's first two years of arbitration eligibility for $23MM. I'm sure they enjoyed paying him just six figures while it lasted. 

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Yankees, Red Sox

By | at

If you read these very slowly, maybe they'll last until Opening Day!

Derek Jeter On His Next Contract

By | at

Unsurprisingly, Derek Jeter's news conference today broke little ground.  MLB.com's Bryan Hoch has the choice quotes from the Yankees' shortstop:

"This is the only organization I've ever wanted to play for.  I've never envisioned myself playing anywhere else. Hopefully I don't have to.  I've never been a free agent, and I've never wanted to be a free agent."

Jeter will not discuss his contract again publicly.  The one interesting note to come out of the conference was that Jeter had his agent Casey Close reach out to the Yankees over the winter but was told the team will stick to their policy and discuss contracts after the season.

So far this winter we've seen writers toss around Jeter contract estimates ranging from three years and $60MM to four years and $100MM.  He'll turn 37 during the 2011 season.

Odds & Ends: Maya, Sheffield, Rays, Yankees

By | at

Monday night linkage..

  • Jon Heyman of SI writes that the Dodgers and Rockies have watched Eric Gagne throw and both teams have shown the willingness to take a chance.  A few weeks ago we learned that Colorado was thinking about extending a non-roster invite to the 34-year-old.
  • The Red Sox might not be close to signing Cuban pitcher Yuniesky Maya, a source familiar with the negotiations tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.  There's a good chance that Maya will instead choose a team that offers a better opportunity to immediately enter its starting rotation.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that Gary Sheffield would not be a good fit for the Nationals as he wants to play every day.  Ladson spoke to a major league source who believes that Sheffield will not accept a role as a backup.
  • Jason Beck of MLB.com fielded a question from a reader, asking why the Tigers dealt Curtis Granderson, only to pursue Johnny Damon instead.  Beck says that the Granderson trade brought Detroit financial flexibility and prospects.  He also credits agent Scott Boras for helping to create an opportunity for Damon.
  • Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg told 620-AM WDAE that the club's payroll will drop below $60MM in 2011, despite having a payroll north of $70MM this season.  Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times points out that while the club didn't plan to make any big additions this year, they found room for Rafael Soriano after dealing Scott Kazmir and Akinori Iwamura.
  • If Mike Jacobs doesn't make the Mets major league roster, Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News doesn't expect him to play for the club's Triple-A affiliate.  Even though his minor league deal doesn't have an out-clause, Rubin is "virtually positive" that the Mets would accommodate him with a trade or release.
  • In his latest mailbag, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch supports Yankees GM Brian Cashman's decision to wait to negotiate with upcoming free agents Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.  Hoch believes that both players should be confident that they'll both be taken care of eventually.

Discussion: Derek Jeter

By | at

In 2008, Derek Jeter posted the lowest full-season OPS (.771) of his career.  That's not a bad number for a 34-year-old shortstop, but it was enough to make some Yankee fans wonder if their captain was on the decline and what might happen when Jeter's contract expired after the 2010 season.  Would Jeter insist on remaining at shortstop?  Would he want a salary close to the $21MM he's set to make in 2010?  And, if Jeter continued to struggle and the Yankees balked at committing so much money to their star, would New York fans have to cope with seeing their beloved Jeter in another team's uniform in 2011?

These questions still remain to some extent a year later, but in the wake of Jeter's excellent .334/.406/.465 performance in 2009 and the Yankees' 27th World Series title, there is a lot less fear in New York that a Jeter extension will turn into an albatross on the club's payroll. 

As per team policy, contract negotiations with Jeter won't begin until after the season, but it's safe to assume that this delay won't be a distraction for either Jeter or the team.  Tyler Kepner of the New York Times predicts "a quick resolution and a new contract that greatly enriches Jeter while preserving his spotless reputation."  There won't be much, if any, drama in the negotiations since Kepner notes that Jeter recognizes the value of his clean image as a franchise hero, and the Yankees similarly want to keep their "dependable, well-spoken, maintenance-free front man."

Kepner thinks the 10-year, $275MM contract that Alex Rodriguez signed with New York after the 2007 season may serve as a benchmark for Jeter's next deal.  Given how much the economics of both baseball and the world have changed just in two years' time, it would be surprising to see even the Yankees commit that much cash to a player who will be 36 in June, no matter how big of a franchise icon he may be.  Also, as Kepner notes, Jeter has managed to avoid the scrutiny that comes with big-money contract negotiations ever since signing his current deal back in 2001.  It's unlikely that Jeter would want to change that as he enters the twilight years of his career and the chances increase that he'll have more seasons like his 2008 campaign. 

Something in the neighborhood of a six-year contract that pays Jeter around $22MM per year (a nod to his uniform number) might be a total more to the liking of both parties.  Jeter gets a slight raise from his previous contract, is locked up until he's 42 years old, and is amply rewarded for his contributions to the team while still leaving the Yankees with a bit of flexibility to sign other players (like, for example, fellow Yankee legend Mariano Rivera, whose deal is also up after 2010).

There could also be a mutual option year or two tacked onto the end of the deal in case the 42-year-old Jeter still wants to play and/or he has a chance of breaking Pete Rose's hit record.  Kepner raised the possibility that Jeter may ask for incentive clauses for passing various hit plateaus, similar to how A-Rod's contract provides him with a $6MM bonus whenever (or if-ever) he passes the career home run totals of Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and then tying and breaking Barry Bonds' all-time record.  Jeter is just 253 hits away from 3,000, but, as Rose himself said to Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski, “You tell Derek that the first 3,000 are easy.”

Since we can assume that 99 percent of Yankee fans want to see Jeter retire in the Bronx, what do you think would be an ideal contract to keep the captain in the fold until the end of his career?

 

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows FOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top