Why The Yankees Gave Derek Jeter A Raise  Today the Yankees
announced that they have re-signed Derek Jeter for one year at
$12 million. This, despite Jeter holding a $9.5 million player
option, and unlikely to fetch more than that in free agency
coming off a year in which injuries limited him to 73 plate
appearances.  The Yankees need Jeter, and Jeter knows it. This
team could look mighty different next year, and not win very
many games. It's good business to keep around a fan favorite and
face of the franchise when you don't have a great team to show
off—especially if this year is a farewell tour for the 39-year-
old, akin to Mariano Rivera's. It couldn't have been that hard
for Jeter to squeeze more than he's worth out of the
Steinbrenners.  But the real reason is strictly financial. As an
option, the $9.5 million would have been counted as part of his
previous contract, with an average annual value somewhere north
of $14 million. That's the number that would count against the
luxury tax, which the Yankees a