When Brian Cashman had his end-of-season press conference last week at Yankee Stadium, he said the Yankees would give Joe Girardi a “Real good reason to stay.” This past Friday, the organization made an offer to the soon-to-be 43-year-old manager, and are now waiting for a decision.
While the parameters of the deal are unknown, the offer is believed to be between $4 million-$5 million per year, which would make Girardi the second highest paid manager in baseball behind Mike Scioscia of the Angels. The Yankees aren’t the only suitors for Girardi, who could bolt to his hometown of Chicago and manage the Cubs – the team that drafted him in 1986. The Nationals are interested as well, and have already asked the Yankees if they could talk with each other, but the Yankees declined to give permission to any team.
Girardi’s current deal will officially be expired at midnight on October 31st, at which point teams can talk to him freely. However, there are backchannel ways for Girardi to find out what the Cubs may offer him, so he is taking his time to weigh out the options. It’s been reported that Chicago wants Girardi bad, and could end up offering a big contract. Girardi said after the season that money has nothing to do with the decision he’ll make. He also said that he hopes to have negotiations wrapped up quickly, so expect to hear a decision in the coming days.
