Let's do some afternoon notes on this beautiful day to resume the World Series of Arbitration.
DON'T YA KNOW: Robinson Cano has not budged off his request of a 10-year, $310 million contract, a source with knowledge of the asking price told ESPN New York on Monday.
The Yankees remain very interested in keeping Cano, but not at that money or length. If the Yankees keep consistent with their current plans, Cano is going to need to drop about $100M-$120M off the sticker price. Since Cano is the best player on the market, there is expected to be a pretty good sized market. Texas has led speculation for awhile, but other clubs are sure to emerge.
It would be surprising if Cano signs prior to next month's Winter Meetings. This is the usually the norm for the top guys, but with the Yankees possibly lopping another $30 million off their commitments for next season because of Alex Rodriguez's up-in-the-air status, it makes sense for big time free agents to wait.
"A-Rod could slow everything down," a baseball official said. "Players always want the Yankees involved and the threat of them having extra money is leverage they probably will want to use."
TANAKA TIME: A source told ESPN New York he thinks Masahiro Tanaka will still be posted before the season, despite the latest hiccup. When asked for a time-table for when an agreement between MLB and the Japanese League may be decided, the source said, "By the end of the year." So Tanaka time might still happen, but there is going to be a wait.
It makes the Yankees offseason plan that much more complicated.
PLAYERS MARKET: Carlos Ruiz, 35, received a three-year, $26 million contract, which means -- if I've go the math right -- Brian McCann will receive $1 billion. Keith Law is not a fan of the deal.
Law sort of gets to the point in his insider piece:
The Philadelphia Phillies have made the first two notable signings of the offseason, and this latest one is even worse than the first. Giving Marlon Byrd a little more than he was worth was bad, but giving Carlos Ruiz, a 34-year-old catcher with platoon problems who's coming off a PED suspension a three-year deal is absolute lunacy.
Ruiz is a better player than Chris Stewart, but Stewart has thrown out 33 percent of base-runners in his careers compared to Ruiz's 27 percent. Ruiz, in a down year, had an OPS of .688 in 2012. Stewart was at .566. Stewart is four years younger.
McCann may get that $100 million we reported a month ago.
ROD SCANDAL: Mike Fish from Outside Lines takes you further into TV drama that is A-Rod vs. MLB. Here is a snippet.
Jones, who is unlikely to appear in person, has previously provided an affidavit to the Rodriguez team. He is a key character in the Biogenesis saga that has ended up a tangled web weaved around a betrayal of friends, checkbook wars, carefully crafted media leaks, and an on-again local burglary investigation. The setting of it all: South Florida, the home of Biogenesis before it closed and where clinics selling testosterone and other anti-aging regimens remain the rage.
"You couldn't make this stuff up," a source close to the case said. "Just one character after another."
Click here to read the rest of the story.
RYAN ALMOST A WRAP: The anticipated signing of Brendan Ryan is almost done, but not offical yet, a source told ESPN New York. Ryan could be Derek Jeter's main backup. The Yankees are interested in Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta, as well, but it is unclear if either would want to be involved in the A-Rod-Derek Jeter love triangle of the left side.