Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Jeter always thought Cano would be a lifelong Yankee

Nobody was probably more surprised at Robinson Cano signing with the Seattle Mariners than the Yankees captain himself — Derek Jeter.

Deep down inside, Jeter believed his former teammate would join him and Mariano Rivera as lifelong Yankees before Cano opted to sign with Seattle last week.

“I thought he would,” Jeter said. “I think a lot of people thought he would. But I don’t know all the details of what happened.”

Perhaps not, but the 10-year, $240 million contract the Mariners offered — one the Yankees declined to come close to — explains a lot.



Jeter —who has spent his entire 18-year career in pinstripes — didn’t try to convince Cano to stay, but said he spoke with him after the agreement was reached and the 31-year-old was pleased with his move out West — or at least one aspect of it.


"I've never called anyone to try and convince them to come," Jeter said. "There's nothing to sell Robbie on or sell anyone on. I think you know what it is. I'm sure he had enough people in his ears. I speak with Robbie, I speak with him a lot, but I would never try to convince anyone.

“He’s happy,” claimed Jeter. “Wouldn’t you be happy? That’s a lot of money.”

And now Jeter and the Yankees look to life without Cano.

“I played with him for nine years, so he’s the second baseman I spent the most time with,” Jeter said. “I’m going to miss him a lot. It’s a business on both sides and I wish him the best. I would have liked to have played with him longer, but it's a business and guys move on”

Jeets wasn’t alone in presuming Cano would stay a Yankee.

“You just thought some way, somehow, it would work out with Cano,” said the retired Andy Pettitte, who left the Yankees for Houston as a free agent following the 2003 season. 

“Obviously, Seattle anted up big-time. Big-time. When someone shows you they want you like that, in Robbie’s situation, it’s very flattering.”

Flattering in $240 million ways.

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