Mariano Rivera stays in Bronx as Boston’s offer losses heat
Brian Cashman is a busy man in the New York Yankees board room. He has the hard task to guarantee an uptight, A-grade team roster for the coming season and matters look very hard when the likes of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and
Andy Pettitte are hard to lure back to the club. Hank and Hal Steinbrenner have been trying to fend of Derek Jeter’s wage demands and that hasn’t been the only worry for the side.
Cliff Lee, who is regarded this year’s top free agent in the market is on top of the Yankees wish list but it seems the winter meetings in the current off-season period are expected to cast big doubts on the way things are expected
to pan out in the coming days. Brian Cashman is expected to dish out more financial resources and while that is a hard task to take a note of, Rivera’s been a hard customer, despite his age.
The 41-year old bullpen maestro recently penned a deal with the Yanks and though there were problems on the sidelines, in terms of contracts, the big man was pushed to a 2 year deal, worth $30 million. It’s an imminent change in
the way the Yankees negotiate, as Mariano highlighted the meetings with Brian as fruitful and brief.
"I wanted it to go smooth and that's exactly what happened. I met with Cash, we talked a little bit and a few hours later, it was done."
The Boston Red Soxs were after the relief pitcher but the deal came through in the end. Nevertheless, Mariano has indicated that this new deal may be the last for his career. He said, “I wanted two years. That will be fine. I think
maybe that might be the last two years."
The Red Sox contacted Rivera’s agent, Fernando Cuza to probe on the bullpen maestro’s wage demands but the likelihood of a problem arising in the negotiations with the Yanks, wasn’t going to be a possibility. That is why a move
wasn’t going to be realistic for Rivera to switch sides.
"They talked to Fern, they were interested," Mariano said. "I really appreciate that. I know there was interest and I respect that. I respect the organization and the front office of the Red Sox. It was respect. The rivalry we
have against each other and the tremendous organization. Just take it in consideration, and the Yankees did what they were supposed to do, and that's the end of that."
Tags: