For years, the Yankees and Derek Jeter have imagined a start-to-finish
marriage in the Bronx -- a one-team-only career that would put the shortstop
in the same fraternity with Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
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Friday's update
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Baseball sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that while Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees are going well, his signing is not imminent.
But George Steinbrenner has decided he does not want this to go to an arbitration hearing. (Jeter filed the largest claim in history at $18.5 million.) So the two sides have been talking constantly the last two days, and both sides are now optimistic a deal could get done next week, though possibly not until the following week.
Jeter is expected to receive either a nine- or 10-year contract, worth between $18 million and just under $20 million a year, depending on how the contract is structured.
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Not that Jeter is ready for those comparisons. Not yet, anyway. But he
clearly believes he has record-setting value to the Yankees after submitting
an arbitration figure of $18.5 million. The Yankees countered with an offer
$14.25 million, which, if nothing else, means there's trouble ahead.
In fact, the gap is so shockingly wide between the two sides, there's a
real possibility no long-term contract will be agreed upon before Opening
Day. If that's the case, and Jeter closes off negotiations for the duration
of the season, he'll almost certainly test free agency next winter.
In that scenario, it's not impossible to imagine the Mets launching an
all-out courtship for Jeter's affection -- playing on what would be an obvious
grudge against Steinbrenner for waiting too long to pay up.
One American League general manager expressed shock that Jeter still
hasn't been signed by the Yankees. As he put it, "Does (Steinbrenner) think
the guy will be any cheaper a year from today?"
The Boss has traditionally waited until the very last moment before
committing turbo-dollars to his free agents, even though it's an expensive,
if not foolish, strategy. Two years ago, Steinbrenner could've signed Bernie
Williams, then testing the market, for an average of $12 million per year.
But the Boss waited until the center fielder had solicited interest from the
Red Sox, thus being forced to up his offer to more than $15 million per.
Jeter is probably worth close to $18 million a year today, considering
Alex Rodriguez will be paid an average of $25 million over the next 10
summers. And that, undoubtedly, explains his arbitration figure.
But the Yankees have no intention of paying Jeter that much in 2001 --
even if they had worked out a long-term deal. One club official said
Steinbrenner was mulling a nine-year package worth close to $170 million, but
that salary was back-loaded -- meaning the first two years' would averaged far
below $18.5 million, perhaps even less than the $14.25 million the Yankees
offered Thursday.
Said one member of the organization, "We're just not budgeted to pay
Derek that much this year."
So why did Jeter reach that high? Perhaps as a reminder that, although he
loves the Yankees and the renaissance that's brought them four World Series titles in
five years, he is still a businessman. And Jeter knows what the market is
paying for top-rated, offensive-minded shortstops, thanks to A-Rod.
Thus, the clock is ticking. With a gap in excess of $4 million, the
Yankees are suddenly facing the possibility that a multi-year deal simply
won't be agreed upon. Jeter will play out the year, refusing to entertain any
in-season offers.
And then -- in what surely represents the Yankees' blackest nightmare --
Jeter will begin listening to seductive sales pitches of every Yankee-hating
team in the big leagues, including the Mets.
Jeter, a Met? It's unlikely, almost unthinkable. But then again, who ever
thought it would get this far? Or that the gulf between the two sides would
be so wide?
If Jeter winds up with a one-year deal, win or lose, it would be the top one-year package in baseball history, surpassing David Cone's $12 million contract with the Yankees last year.
Lucky for the Yankees, they have far less distance to cover in signing
Mariano Rivera, who's asking for $10.25 million. The Bombers countered with
$9 million on Thursday. Compared to Jeter, that gap looks tiny.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for
ESPN.com.
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