The NYY would like to extend the following potential FA contracts :
OF Jose Bautista
Extend for 2 yrs 2018 at a salary of $19.25m per year
His highest finish was 6th in 2015 which results in a salary of $13m however the 70% rule means he can be extended at $27.5 * 70% = $19.25M
SP Johnny Cueto
Extend for 3 yrs 2019 at a salary of $14.5m per year
His highest finish was 5th in 2016 which results in a salary of $14.5M
SP Jason Hammel
Extend for 3 yrs 2019 at a salary of $5.5m per year
His highest finish was 46th in 2015 which results in a salary of $5.5m
RP Joe Blanton
Extend for 2 yrs 2018 at a salary of $2m per year
His highest finish was 29th in 2015 which results in a salary of $2M
The NYY will not offer extensions to
Ryan Hanigan
Ryan Doumit
Joe Nathan
Rafael Soriano
We realize that you, and several other new GMs, are at a bit of a disadvantage because you took over teams after some crucial deadlines, but these players cannot be extended because they were all on regular contracts that expired at the end of the season.
We know that sometimes things seem a bit confusing, but if you look the "2016-2017 Important Dates", you will see that the off-season began on 9/26/16, and at that point all players on expiring contracts became free agents--which includes all the players listed above. The only players who can still be extended are prospects on (P-2016) contracts.
We realize the frustration that sometimes comes out of these situations and we have, at times, been criticized for being to rigid--I mean "why can't we bend the rule just this once?" But we hope you understand that we must adhere to our established rules because they provide the stability needed for on-going success. You will still have an opportunity to re-acquire all of these players during our free agent period. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
