The romancing of Jason Giambi by the Yankees started yesterday when club officials had several discussions with Arn Tellem, the representative for the stud free agent first baseman.
Yankee voices and Tellem refused to say if an offer was made but yesterday was the first day teams could talk finances with free agents other than their own, so money and years were discussed.
And nobody refuted a story in Tuesday’s Post that reported the Yankees were willing to go seven years for $119 million to add Giambi’s muscular left-handed swing to their lineup that desperately needs biceps.
“I am not going to comment if an offer was made,” Tellem said. “But we had discussions. The Yankees and other teams called.”
“They are just getting started in the process,” an industry source said of the Yankees’ discussions with Tellem, a respected agent who has a history of putting deals together quickly like he did with Mike Mussina and the Yankees last November.
With George Steinbrenner’s inner circle descending on Tampa early next week for high-level meetings that will involve The Boss, a Giambi visit to New York could happen later in the week.
However, considering the air travel scene in the aftermath of Sept. 11, if Giambi hears what he wants through Tellem, there might not be a need for a cross-country jaunt.
One thing is clear: The Yankees have put everything else off until they know if Giambi is going to play first base and hit fourth for them.
That means deals for Gary Sheffield or Roberto Alomar and the pursuit of other free agents – Kenny Lofton, Roger Cedeno, Rondell White, David Wells, Sterling Hitchcock, etc. – will wait.
And it appears to be a two-horse race – the A’s and Yankees – for the 30-year-old Giambi’s services. The Cardinals have an interest but don’t want to go near the seven years it figures to seduce Giambi, who finished second in yesterday’s AL MVP voting after batting .342 with 38 homers and 129 RBIs.
People who know Giambi insist he won’t simply go to the highest bidder. Instead, the first time free agent wants to be wooed, and the Yankees are good at the recruiting game.
You only have to look to last winter when a brief phone call from Joe Torre to Mussina swayed Mussina to leave Baltimore for The Bronx and $88.5M.
If Giambi, the ringleader of the Animal House A’s, splits Oakland, it’s going to be a difficult move.
“Someone would definitely have to come in and knock my socks off because of the things I have done in the Bay Area,” Giambi said. “It would have to be a pretty great situation.”
Not only is Giambi’s brother, Jeremy, an A, Giambi’s fiancee is from the East Bay. However, the Boss is hard to turn down.
While the Yankees have never stated they would like Giambi to DH, he ruled that out for a while.
“I don’t ever want to be a DH,” said Giambi, who said that issue would kill a deal. “Maybe later in my career, or if I was injured. I enjoy being part of the game. I don’t think teams will ask me to DH for that kind of money.”
