By Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger Follow on Twitter on October 31, 2013 at 8:39 AM, updated October 31, 2013 at 10:27 AM
The World Series is over, and now the Yankees winter can officially begin.
Well, sort of. The baseball offseason is a lengthy slog, a gradual building in November that crescendos in December and experiences a denouement in January. No, Robinson Cano will not be signing with any team any time soon.
Here are a few key dates to watch these next couple weeks as the offseason gets started:
1. Nov. 4: The deadline for teams to tender their free agents a qualifying offer, a one-year deal which is reportedly worth $14.1 million. The Yankees are expected to tender Cano, Hiroki Kuroda and Curtis Granderson. Phil Hughes looked like a lock for this, but after a terrible season, that appears unlikely. If a player rejects the offer and signs elsewhere (as Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano did last year), the team receives a compensatory draft pick.
2. Also by Nov. 4: Contract options must be decided. So Derek Jeter will choose either to accept his $9.5 million option or opt for free agency after the worst season of his career. It would make general manager Brian Cashman’s life a lot easier if Jeter simply picks up the option.
3. Nov. 5: Free agents may begin negotiating with any team.
4. Nov. 11: The players tendered qualifying offers must decide whether to accept. It is possible Granderson takes this one-year deal, considering how injuries wrecked his 2013 and his preference for remaining a Yankee. But the pull of the open market should be enough to dissuade him.
5. Dec. 2: The non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players. Both catcher Chris Stewart and utility infielder Jayson Nix are candidates.
SD Yankee Report 