Yankees GM wants Joe Girardi back

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NEW YORK -- With the assurance from Joe Girardi that he would like to return as New York Yankees manager, general manager Brian Cashman plans on offering him a raise when the time comes to negotiate with Girardi's agent over lunch Wednesday.

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Mark Goldman/Icon SMIBrian Cashman will meet Wednesday with the agent for Joe Girardi about keeping the manager (above) in New York.

Girardi, 48, could have other opportunities in managing and broadcasting. Cashman declined to say if he would grant Girardi permission to speak to the Chicago Cubs, who fired Dale Sveum on Monday. Because Girardi is under contract until Oct. 31, a source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Yankees are hesitant to give him permission to speak with the Cubs.

From the Yankees' point of view, it would only give Girardi more leverage in negotiations. If talks were to break down, then the Yankees might let him talk to the Cubs, if Chicago has interest. On Sunday, Girardi has said he would like the situation to be cleared up shortly.

When asked specifically about letting Girardi talk to the Cubs, Cashman declined to answer if he would or would not.

"He is obviously under contract," Cashman said. "And we have an interested in clearly trying to keep him."

Girardi also could consider a hiatus from managing, return to the broadcast booth and then managing again. He spoke about this possibility on Sunday.

On Monday over coffee with Girardi, Cashman reiterated to him what he has said publicly for months -- he wants Girardi to stay. Cashman left the meeting thinking the feeling is mutual.

"I think he likes it here," Cashman said. He plans on offering a contract for more than the $3 million per season that his current three-year deal pays.

"We are going to give him a real good reason to stay and he has earned that through his six years," Cashman said.

Cashman also reiterated that Hal Steinbrenner would like to lower the payroll below $189 million, which includes approximately $177 million in player salaries.

"It's certainly a goal; it's not a mandate," he said. "There's a lot of benefits to staying under that, but it's not a mandate at the expense of a championship run."

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Andrew Marchand

ESPNNewYork.com

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Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »