Cano isn't worth a huge contract.

Robinson Cano may be the all time Yankee second baseman but the Yankees should not break the bank to sign him when he becomes a free agent after the season.

Cano's OPS+ so far this season is 143.  Among batters since 1903 who qualified to lead the league in an average stat, Cano is tied with Evan Longoria (also 2013) and many others for number 1,328.

How does Cano's 2013 season (143) rank among second basemen?  Tied for number 66 with:
Craig Biggio 1997
Chuck Knoblauch 1996
Davey Johnson 1973; see August 31, 2010
Those 1973 Atlanta Braves: was there something in the water?

Top ten seasons for second basemen:

Rk	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Rogers Hornsby	222	1924	28	STL	NL	143	642	536	121	227	43	14	25	94	89		32	2	13			5	12	.424	.507	.696	1.203	*4
2	Rogers Hornsby	210	1925	29	STL	NL	138	606	504	133	203	41	10	39	143	83		39	2	16			5	3	.403	.489	.756	1.245	*4
3	Rogers Hornsby	207	1922	26	STL	NL	154	704	623	141	250	46	14	42	152	65		50	1	15			17	12	.401	.459	.722	1.181	*4
4	Nap Lajoie	203	1904	29	CLE	AL	140	594	553	92	208	49	15	5	102	27		19	8	6			29		.376	.413	.546	.959	*46/3
5	Rogers Hornsby	202	1928	32	BSN	NL	140	621	486	99	188	42	7	21	94	107		41	1	25			5		.387	.498	.632	1.130	*4
6	Nap Lajoie	199	1910	35	CLE	AL	159	677	591	94	227	51	7	4	76	60		18	5	21			26		.384	.445	.514	.960	*43
7	Rogers Hornsby	191	1921	25	STL	NL	154	674	592	131	235	44	18	21	126	60		48	7	15			13	13	.397	.458	.639	1.097	*4/7653
8	Rogers Hornsby	187	1923	27	STL	NL	107	487	424	89	163	32	10	17	83	55		29	3	5			3	7	.384	.459	.627	1.086	*43
9	Joe Morgan	186	1976	32	CIN	NL	141	599	472	113	151	30	5	27	111	114	8	41	1	0	12	2	60	9	.320	.444	.576	1.020	*4
10	Rogers Hornsby	185	1920	24	STL	NL	149	660	589	96	218	44	20	9	94	60		50	3	8			12	15	.370	.431	.559	.990	*4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/10/2013.

OK, so Cano is not Rogers Hornsby or even Joe Morgan.  How about among Yankees?

Rk	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Tony Lazzeri	159	1929	25	NYY	AL	147	639	545	101	193	37	11	18	106	68		45	4	18			9	10	.354	.429	.561	.991	*4
2	Joe Gordon	154	1942	27	NYY	AL	147	625	538	88	173	29	4	18	103	79		95	1	7		22	12	6	.322	.409	.491	.900	*4
3	Robinson Cano	150	2012	29	NYY	AL	161	697	627	105	196	48	1	33	94	61	10	96	7	0	2	22	3	2	.313	.379	.550	.929	*4/D
4	Snuffy Stirnweiss	145	1945	26	NYY	AL	152	718	632	107	195	32	22	10	64	78		62	1	6		9	33	17	.309	.385	.476	.862	*4
5	Tony Lazzeri	145	1928	24	NYY	AL	116	464	404	62	134	30	11	10	82	43		50	1	15			15	5	.332	.397	.535	.932	*4
6	Robinson Cano	143	2013	30	NYY	AL	90	388	337	50	99	17	0	20	59	44	13	51	3	0	4	11	5	0	.294	.376	.522	.899	*4/D6

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/10/2013.

Better but still behind two Hall of Famers.  Gordon was MVP in 1942.

Cano was born October 22, 1982, which means that when the 2014 season starts he will be 31.  The Yanks should make him a nice offer for four years at which time he will be 34 in the final year of that contract.  Cano would be 37 in the final year of a seven year contract   Older than that and the Yanks are right back where they are now with Derek Jeter 39 and Alex Rodriguez almost 38 struggling to get out of the minors and join the Yankees after major injuries.

The Yankees are correct in trying to get their total payroll under $189,000,000 for next season.  Then they will avoid the luxury tax and be able to sign young free agents like Giancarlo Stanton or Mike Trout or Bryce Harper in the next few years.

Teams allocate about 40% of payroll for pitchers and 60% for the rest.  Even with a $200,000,000 payroll that's still only $120,000,000 for non pitchers.  That averages out to $15,000,000 per season for each starter.  Obviously a team must also pay reserves and not all starters will receive that much.

But some people state that the Yankees should pay Cano $25 to $30 million dollars per season for at least seven years.  That's nuts, especially for a guy who's good, but not that good.