The New York Yankees offered Robinson Cano $165 million over seven years this summer in an attempt to sign the second baseman to a contract extension, according to both Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Yankees offered Robinson Cano $165 million, per reports
Cano is the premier free agent on the market this offseason and figures to be highly paid.
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At the time, Cano’s contract demands had been 10 years for $300 million, a number that most thought was unlikely at best. However, that was what he needed to sign an extension before reaching the free market. Now that Cano is officially a free agent, his personal hope for a contract will be less of a factor.
Cano figures to be the most highly-paid free agent of the offseason, even if he does not reach the lofty financial goals he had originally hoped for. So far, there have not been many rumors of teams other than the Yankees having an interest in giving Cano such a large contract. One of MLB's biggest spenders, the Dodgers, signed Cuban second baseman Alexander Guerrero to a big deal this offseason and do not figure to make a play for Cano.
Cano, 31, is widely regarded as the best second baseman in baseball today. Over 160 games in 2013, he hit .314/.383/.516 with 27 home runs. He was the only real power threat for the Yankees until a trade for Alfonso Soriano, because the team suffered heavily from injuries.
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