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The Seattle Mariners have agreed to sign second baseman Robinson Cano to a ten-year, $240 million contract, according ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported that a deal between the two sides was close, correcting multiple reports from this morning that said that talks between the two sides had collapsed. Rojas says that Cano will take a physical on Monday in Seattle.
Cano, 31, was the premiere free agent on the market this winter and will immediately provide the impact bat that the Mariners have been looking to add to their lineup. After hitting .314 with 27 HR and 107 RBI in 160 games for the Yankees in 2013, he was seeking a ten-year, $310 million contract at the onset of free agency. His demands have lowered since then, and the Mariners emerged as serious suitors in recent days.
The news of a signing comes as a bit of a surprise following a report from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News this morning that talks had collapsed following a meeting in Seattle last night. Feinsand reported that the Mariners were willing to make a nine-year $225 million offer, but Jay-Z demanded more money, causing an outburst from Mariners' CEO Howard Lincoln. Apparently, the sides reconciled quickly and got a deal done.
The Yankees were said to not be willing to go past $200 million on Cano, and had been offering him seven-year contracts throughout the offseason. Instead of caving to Cano's demands, the Yankees signed top free agents Jacoby Ellsbury (7-years, $153 million) and Brian McCann (5-years, $85 million), and are pursuing plenty of other free agents who are still on the market.
Other teams who have been linked to Cano include the Nationals, Tigers and Rangers, but none of those teams committed to a serious pursuit. With Cano and Ellsbury off the free agent market, the focus will shift to free agent starters Ervin Santana, Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez.
