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The New York Yankees are still in discussions with second baseman Robinson Cano about a long-term contract, and owner Hal Steinbrenner hopes to come to an agreement with the All-Star slugger "in the weeks to come," reports David Lennon of Newsday:
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"We've had several conversations with Brodie [Van Wagenen], just as we did with Scott [Boras], and a lot of it is procedural," Steinbrenner said. "But we're going to continue in the weeks to come to work through things and try to come to an agreement."
Cano fired agent Scott Boras last month and hired Jay-Z's entertainment company, Roc Nation, to represent him from here forward. The move to Jay-Z's company has been speculated as being a strong indicator that Cano wants to stay in New York rather than test the free-agent market this fall, but no one has explicitly come out and said that is the case. I suppose we'll know for sure if/when he does agree to an extension.
For his part, Steinbrenner indicated that he wants the second baseman to "end his career" in New York, and seems to believe that Cano wants to stay in the Big Apple as well.
Brodie Van Wagenen, who is an agent for CAA, is the point man for all Cano negotiations at the moment, but Jay-Z is working his way towards becoming an accredited agent and could step in at some point. The big question facing the negotiations going forward is what kind of money New York is planning to dole out to keep Cano in pinstripes. Will he be in the A-Rod range (10 yrs/$275MM), the Derek Jeter zone (10 yrs/$189MM), or the David Wright realm (8 yrs/$138MM)?
A four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Cano is off to a very strong start through the Yankees' first 41 games. The lefty slugger is batting .298/.341/.542 with 10 home runs in 179 plate appearances.
