Empire Strikes Back: Yankees Agree To 3-Year Deal With Beltran
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Well, that didn't take long.
Hours after losing free agent second baseman Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees jumped right back up on the horse, agreeing to terms with veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran on a three-year, $45 million contract, CBSSports.com and WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman reported Friday night.
Beltran, 36, will likely be the Yankees' regular right-fielder and occasional DH. The move gives the Bombers too many outfielders when you consider they had already added Jacoby Ellsbury to a group featuring Alfonso Soriano, Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells.
It's possible Gardner could be dealt to help fix other needs.
Beltran was once considered one of the more prolific run-producers in the game. He hit .296 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 145 games for St. Louis this past season, and is a .283 lifetime hitter with 358 homers and 1,327 RBI. He has been a tremendous postseason performer, belting 16 home runs in 51 career playoff games.
The Yankees were on an aggressive roll this offseason, signing both catcher Brian McCann and Ellsbury to monster deals, before they were dealt a blow earlier Friday when Cano, the prize of this offseason's free agent class, spurned the Yankees' reported seven-year, $175 million offer for a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners.
The Yankees had prepared for that eventuality, signing veteran second baseman Kelly Johnson to a one-year deal on Thursday, but they got super-aggressive in the hours after losing Cano and his perennial 100-RBI bat, landing Beltran, who had received significant interest from several teams, including Kansas City and Seattle.
The Yankees also addressed their pitching rotation on Friday, agreeing to a one-year, $16 million deal with veteran right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.
The Yankees likely are not close to done considering they likely need another infielder in the event that Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension is upheld, another starting pitcher and must add some arms in the bullpen.
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