Jesus Montero is rated as being one of the best hitters to come along in years by many scouts, an 80 hitter and an 80 power guy (on a 20 to 80 scale). So I pray to God the Yankees don’t trade him. This is a guy who might be an MVP candidate with his bat alone.

Hopefully, they will sign Arnoldis Chapman and he’ll be in the rotation mix as will Andrew Brackman. Maybe Slade Heathcoat will be patrolling center.

And if ARod is going to be problematic at 36, why wouldn’t Jeter? Jeter going to be 36 this year in June. H=Yes, he had a great year but what kind of year can you expect out of him at 37 (in 2011) much less at 38 (2012)? Is he really going to be playing shortstop? Will his bat carry him as a left fielder by then? (it’s not like you can slide him to third or first, with ARod and Texiera around).

When you consider that Joe Mauer, King Felix or Hanley Ramirez might be Yankees as free agents by then, it give you a whole other perspective on tying up dollars with Jeter, as great as he’s been.

Of course, Jeter isn’t going to have a whole lot of $20m a year, three year offers on the table next year, either.

thenewguy wrote:

Um, aren’t we to expect holes in the roster 2 years from now? Do you expect Cashman to have already signed players who are free agents next year and in two years?

Yes. Every team has contracts set to expire. But, you would expect a team to have prospects ready to step in when players leave – like the Angels did with Teixeira and Morales, like the Red Sox did with Loretta and Pedroia, etc. But, right now, for the holes the Yankees have in 2012, that they know about now, there’s no one lined-up to fill them…which means they will have to go out and get players. Hence, why I wrote:

“Brian Cashman and company will have their work cut out for them over the next couple of seasons…building that team for 2012. Because, right now, it’s got issues and holes out the ying yang…and the ‘12 season starts just about two years from now…”

In this one, I wrote:

“Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Jorge Posada will be gone from the Yankees scene by that time.”

Obviously, there, I meant:

“Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte will be gone from the Yankees scene by that time.”

And, I just corrected that now.

@ ken:
That’s true Ken, but it’s all about the money. CC won’t be able to get a bigger contract than one he currently has (unless he pulls an A-Rod), and he can use all the money he makes to buy an even BIGGER house in the Oakland hills, or wherever he decides to retire to on the west coast.

Re: CC: I would not be shocked if he opts out after 2011. He prefers to live on West Coast and now has at least one ring in his pocket.

Oops… my bad Steve, u have Joba as starter.. i also had Lohud open and Chad jennings had him in the pen i think.. my bad

That Arod contract is going to sour in a hurry… Will Derek jeter pull a Wakefield.. that would be cool.. renewable one year contracts at a avg of top 3 shortstops in the league? Yeah… no chance… There is no way CC opts out ofcourse… i kind of find it good that so many contracts expire, maybe they can reign in some spending… the best position that can be filled from within is the catcher spot… hopefully Heathcott takes over in one of the OF spots… i find it interesting that u have Joba in the pen… i would like to think he will be in the rotation and Phil will b in the pen… if Brackman ever pans out that would be cool…. the biggest headache ofcourse is Jeter… i think the Yanks would love a Manny Ramirez type contract 2/45 i think the sticking point will not be the annual salary but the length of the contract, Cash$$ will be artful… i think

This is unrealistic, but I hope that Jeter realizes that and takes it into consideration before negotiating. I mean to say that I hope his demands are not outrageous, and that the negotiations are not too drawn out and public because it would put the team in a difficult spot. There also needs to be an acknowledgment of the fact that he can’t hope to play SS until he retires, unless by some miracle he can really do it. These and more I hope for the next offseason.

The Jeter negotiations will be fascinating. It all depends on what he wants: both financially and on the field. Nevertheless, he will dictate the terms to the team and they will have to eat whatever he serves. There is no way he plays for any other team. (That last statement is meant as my read of the situation rather than my hope as a fan.)