The Yankee Universe can relax today, their captain is coming back to the Bronx.
According to George King of the New York Post, Derek Jeter will re-sign with the Yankees to a three-year deal worth $51 million dollars.
This contract will end a period of what seemed to be a chaotic negotiation process between Jeter, his agent Casey Close, and the Yankees.
The Yankees originally offered Jeter a three-year deal worth $45 million, but Jeter apparently didn’t accept the first deal, which lead to even more speculation as to how much he was looking for.
One report had Jeter looking for five or six years and as high as $150 million, but those reports were quickly denied by Close.
Yankee general manager Brian Cashman had told Jeter and Close that if they didn’t like the Yankees original offer, that they should go test the market—a comment that was criticized by a lot of Yankee fans and New York media.
It seemed like the negotiations for Jeter were might drag out into the winter, but this past week Jeter and Close sat down with Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine and Brian Cashman and had a positive meeting, which allowed the negotiations to resume in the right direction and lead to today’s signing.
Jeter’s deal has an option for a fourth year, but YES Network’s Jack Curry referred to it as being “tricky,” because the option can not vest nor is it a team option.
Despite the fact that Jeter was coming off one of his worst seasons in the majors, hitting just .270, Jeter will be entering 2011 just 74 hits away from his 3,000th of his career.
The Yankees have never had a player accomplish that mark, and having Jeter be the first one to do so will be an enormous event for the Yankees in 2011.
For a lot of Yankee fans, this ends what seemed like to be a period of pulling teeth, given the reports and rumors regarding Jeter.
Many of the die-hard fans never really had any concern about Jeter going anywhere else other than the Yankees, and after today, those concerns can be put to rest.
It also had been reported that the Yankees wanted to end the Jeter negotiations for a new contract before the Winter Meetings and get Jeter signed so they can concentrate their efforts to signing Cliff Lee.
Now that Rivera and Jeter are taken care of, it seems like Lee is next on the list.
Today is a good day for Yankees Universe.
Captain Clutch and Mr. November will be returning to the Bronx for at least three more years.
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