Yankees reportedly made Robinson Cano 'significant offer'

The New York Yankees have made Robinson Cano a "significant offer" to keep the second baseman from entering free agency after the 2013 season according to general manager Brian Cashman as tweeted by Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.

Speculation has centered on Cano hitting free agency and testing the market before possibly re-signing with the Yankees.

Not that it’s likely to get done before the four-time All-Star second baseman hits the market, because Cano’s agent, Scott Boras, almost always steers his clients into free agency and seeks top dollar, Jered Weaver’s 2011 extension being the rare exception. With the Dodgers taking over the Yankees’ spot as the game’s top spenders, and the game generally awash in unprecedented television rights revenue, other teams could drive the price of Cano even higher into the stratosphere, though it’s still tough to imagine any willing to go 10 years on such a pact.

CBS Sports recently reported the Yankees and Cano were far apart in negotiating a multi-year contrct

Word is, early on the team has suggested they considered Cano a "top 10" or maybe at worst a top 15 player in the game, while Cano, following three straight top-six finishes in American League MVP voting, seems to be thinking a bit higher than that.

"There are few elite players. That just is a very short list -- less than five," Cano's agent Scott Boras said by phone of his client.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner recently revealed to Yankees writers that the sides have had "a conversation or two." But left unsaid at the time is where things stand.

"Robinson is happy being a Yankee, and both sides recognize that this is one of the elite players in the game," Boras said.

https://twitter.com/DanBarbarisi/status/307240256346923009