MLB Bullets Has A Whale Of A Tale

I've been under the weather the past couple of days. So if none of this makes any sense, I blame the medication.

• The big news of the day is the possibility of Robinson Cano bolting the Bronx for Seattle, who has offered him a 9 year/$225 million contract, according to Jon Heyman.
• Or they didn't and their offer was for less than $200 million, writes Ken Rosenthal.
• Rosenthal seems to be a bit baffled by all of this as he writes that Cano signing with the Mariners makes no sense for the M's, for the Yankees or for Cano.
• In any case, the Yankees are growing pessimistic that Cano will stay in New York.
• The Yankees are also preparing for life after Cano as they are near an agreement with free agent second baseman Kelly Johnson.
• Jon Paul Morosi writes that the "Cano camp" were very upset with the contract the Yankees gave Jacoby Ellsbury.
• Cano's father told the New York Daily News that the Yankees "don't seem to want" his son.
• Jayson Stark wondered even before the Mariners news broke wondering if the Yankees had enough money to sign Cano. His conclusion: sure, if the suspension of Alex Rodriguez is upheld. Otherwise, it's murky.

MLB Bullets has exclusive video of the entire Mariners team welcoming Cano to Seattle.

• The Mariners aren't just interested in bringing in Cano, either. They are one of the teams making a bid for David Price. They are dangling Taijuan Walker at the moment in such a deal.
• Dave Cameron tries to figure out what a fair return for David Price would be. He argues that Taijuan Walker or any major league ready top prospect would be too much for two years of Price.
• David Schoenfield wonders if the Mariners will be good enough to compete even if they do get Cano and Price.
• In the wake of the Jacoby Ellsbury deal, Chad Jennings tries to answer ten major questions about the Yankees future.
• Ian O'Connor says the Yankees deals with Ellsbury and Brian McCann demonstrates that the Yankees are back being the Yankees again. Of course, if they lose Cano, that would be something new. Who was the last Yankee free agent that the team wanted back that signed anywhere else?
• Joe Posnanski thinks long-term deals like Ellsbury's never work out, except for the Yankees, who can afford to take a bath on the final years of the deal.
• The Royals acquired Norichika Aoki from the Brewers for Will Smith.
• Phil Rogers thinks the Aoki deal was good for both teams.
• The Marlins have signed Rafael Furcal to a one year, $3 million deal.
• The Red Sox signed Edward Mujica.
• And it just wouldn't be the White Sox without Paul Konerko, who is returning to the team on a one year, $2.5 million contract.
• Al's already done a story on the new posting system between MLB and NPB. Well, the Rakuten Golden Eagles aren't happy about it and may not post Masahiro Tanaka because of it.
• Despite rumors to the contrary, the Reds say they are not looking to deal Brandon Phillips. And they say he's welcome at Redsfest if he wants to come.
• Also, the Reds say that Aroldis Chapman will stay in the bullpen.
• Ken Rosenthal tries to make sense of of that wacky Tuesday in the Hot Stove League.
• Michael Baumann was just confused by all of it. He wants MLB to slow down on the trade front.
• Joe Lemeire thinks that with free agents becoming fewer and more expensive, more teams are turning to the trade market to remake their rosters.
• Marc Normandin looks at six players who were non-tendered contracts that could help your team.
• Jonah Keri ranked the top 50 players in MLB by their value on the trade market. Part I and then Part II. Number one is no surprise to anyone.
• Anthony Castrovince thinks that for teams that don't want to pay for David Price, Jeff Samardzija is a much better option.
• Three people have been charged with the kidnapping and extortion of Leonys Martin. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• Dave Winfield has joined the MLBPA as a special assistant to new executive director Tony Clark.
• Jay Jaffe looks at the Hall of Fame credentials of Mike Piazza.
• David Schoenfield thinks the 70s and 80s are underrepresented in Cooperstown, He has ten candidates from that era for consideration.
• In case you want to make your voice heard in the Hall of Fame voting, Deadspin has now opened the balloting for the Hall of Fame ballot they purchased. You can cast your vote here.
• Finally, the late Nelson Mandela was many things in his time, but the one thing he never was was Alex Rodriguez. You'd think the people at the NBC station in Detroit would know that. (Video)