Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Take one low-key, baseball icon and a franchise with a bottomless pit of revenue, and it should add up to an easy, amicable contract negotiation.   But when it comes to Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees, forget about easy. And amicable may have just left town, too.

After Jeter signed a 10-year, $189 million contract extension in 2000, you needed a search party — or at least a decent search engine — to realize that Jeter’s agent was a fellow named Casey Close. Now, that contract has expired, and Close is beginning the delicate process of expressing dismay over the Yankees’ negotiating tactics while trying to uphold his client’s selfless image.

Saturday night, Close told New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica that the Yankees’ negotiating tactics with Jeter are “baffling” given the shortstop’s contributions to the franchise on the field and in the marketing department.

Said Close:

“There’s a reason the Yankees themselves have stated Derek Jeter is their modern-day Babe Ruth. Derek’s significance to the team is much more than just stats. And yet, the Yankees’ negotiating strategy remains baffling. They continue to argue their points in the press and refuse to acknowledge Derek’s total contribution to their franchise.”

The “total contribution to the franchise” is Close and Jeter’s trump card in these negotations, and Close threw it on the table publicly pretty early in the game. Clearly, a 36-year-old shortstop coming off a .270 season and his lowest career OPSisn’t worthy of the dollars Jeter may receive, and everyone knows it.

But the Jeter camp appears to be chafing at leaks that indicate the Yankees are prepared to treat this as “a baseball contract”as opposed to a victory lap or a thank-you for Jeter’s myriad contributions to the Yankees’ franchise value. The Yankees indicated to USA TODAY that they are preparing a three-year contract offer for Jeter, which may be less in years than he’d desire. But that detail, perhaps, could be smoothed over if he’s not forced to take a pay cut from his last deal.

As it stands, there remains an overwhelming chance Jeter returns a Yankee. But two questions remain until then: How much are the Yankees willing to loosen the purse strings to “take care” of their franchise icon? And will Jeter’s pinstripes get sullied in all the mudslinging until they strike a deal?

Stay tuned.

By Gabe Lacques