Entering the regular season, it appeared that New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was destined to reach the free agent market. Now -- following Cano's departure from Scott Boras and agreement with CAA and Jay-Z -- negotiations between the slugger and the Yankees are almost certain to restart in the near future, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Cano ditched Boras for CAA and Jay-Z. While the second baseman is officially being represented by CAA's co-head Brodie Van Wagenen, the rapper and entrepreneur is expected to be "intimately involved" with negotiations. Heyman notes that an in-season contract extension for a player the caliber of Cano is rare, but it now appears that this is the goal of the Yankees and the pending free agent's camp.
Boras to Jay-Z?
Cano fires agent Scott Boras for Jay-Z. Regardless of how negotiations play out, Van Wagenen told Heyman that Cano "will not allow the personal contract situation to distract him" from his focus of helping the Yankees win their 28th World Series title. Now that the regular season has begun, Van Wagenen noted "Cano's focus is on the field."
Cano hit .313/.379/.550 with 48 doubles and 33 home runs over 697 plate appearances last season. The 30-year-old owns a career batting line of .308/.351/.503 over nine seasons in the majors.
