Yanks Reportedly Make An Offer To Cano

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

The walls of the strict Yankee "no contract extensions" policy started to crumble recently when Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the team had been in talks with Robinson Cano and his agent Scott Boras about a new deal.  Those walls continue to come crashing down after yesterday's report of an actual contract offer being given to Cano.  Dan Barbarisi had the story, tweeting that Cash himself confirmed a "significant offer" had been made.  It almost goes without saying that the Yankees' definition of "significant" and Boras' definition in this case will be drastically different, but it's another step in the right direction towards bringing Cano back.

More importantly, it's another big sign that the Yankee front office has smartened up when it comes to doing business on a budget.  Waiting until Cano hit the open market was going to force them to shell out more money and more years if they really wanted to keep him, and chances are that's still what's going to happen with Boras at the controls.  But by continuing to negotiate with Cano and make contract offers, the Yankees get themselves a bigger headstart again their free agent competition, show Cano they are serious about wanting him back, and give themselves a better chance of working out a deal closer to what they're comfortable with than they would have had if they waited until October/November to start talking.