Yankees Tell Jeter to Look Elsewhere

Could the New York Yankees really part ways with Derek Jeter? It's certainly looking that way. The club hasn't budged from the three-year, $45 million they've offered the star shortstop, and Brian Cashman told ESPN that he’s “encouraged him to test the market and see if there’s something he would prefer other than this. If he can, fine.” In a telling move, the club has declined to offer arbitration to either Jeter or Mariano Rivera.

Jeter’s agent was quoted as saying he was “baffled” by the team’s negotiating strategy, a statement that clearly irked Cashman. “They know exactly where we sit,” the GM said. Asked what Jeter's demands were, he replied, "You can write that they have asked for more. More years and more money." Owner Hal Steinbrenner, meanwhile, said the talks “might get messy,” adding, “We’ve already made these guys very, very rich, and I don’t feel we owe anybody anything monetarily.” (More Derek Jeter stories.)