Yankees Avoid Arbitration with Nady, Cabrera
The outfield is crowded
Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 12:30 PMThe New York Yankees avoided arbitration with two outfielders yesterday, coming to terms with both Melky Cabrera and Xavier Nady, who has been a hot trade topic around the baseball world.
Although exact figures have not been announced, it's rumored that the deal with Cabrera exceeded the $1.35 million mark, while Nady nearly doubled his salary, netting about $6.55 million – a very tradable figure.
While the trade of Nady remains a likely possibility, the salary now being paid to Melky will almost guarantee him a spot on the Yankees roster – barring an unexpected suitor and the addition of another centerfielder.
Although he'll go into Spring Training with Brett Gardner hot on his trail, Cabrera has all the experience and skill he'll need to win the starting job and rightfully take his spot in centerfield. And should he perform like he did in 2006 and 2007 as opposed to 2008, the 24-year-old will be in no danger of losing that spot throughout the course of the season.
New York now has only one arbitration-eligible player in relief pitcher Brian Bruney, and both sides fully believe an agreement will be reached before a hearing can bescheduled.
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