Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Sabathia To Sign With Yanks

UPDATE 11:19 p.m.: Tim Brown and Gordon Edes are reporting that the deal is actually worth $161 million for seven years and has an opt out clause after the third year. He can opt out after the 2011 season.
Sabathia had insisted on the clause to satisfy concerns he had about playing in New York.
UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: Jon Heyman just said on WFAN that the deal is not worth $140 million for six years, but $160 for seven years, this is being confirmed by Ken Rosenthal.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy they signed him, but I never wanted the Yanks to give him that seventh year. I guess it's what they had to do to up the offer to fully convince him to come to New York. Still, that's a lot of money and a lot of years for a starting pitcher.

From Joel Sherman:
CC Sabathia is not going to play on the West Coast. He is not going to play in the National League. CC Sabathia is going to be a Yankee, The Post has learned exclusively.

After three straight days of face-to-face meetings between GM Brian Cashman and Sabathia, the big lefty decided he wants to spend the next six years of his career as a Yankee. The decision came late last night after Cashman flew to see Sabathia at his home in San Francisco. By the time the meeting was concluded, Sabathia had informed the Yankees that he had made his decision to call New York his baseball home, the Post has learned.

There are still minor hurdles to finalize, notably that Sabathia must pass a physical. But after so much belief that Sabathia was stalling because he wanted to avoid New York, he agreed to the largest pitching contract in major league history, at least $140 million.

You knew when CC called Cashman for a third meeting in San Francisco, with CC's wife Amber, that something was up. Great job by Cashman and company for getting the deal done. Also, I think having Reggie Jackson at the meeting the other night was a very smart idea.

14 Comments:

Anonymous said...

YES!!

Anonymous said...

YES!!!! Thank you big boy!! Now we can move on and really make a championship team.

Ace- check

Anonymous said...

That's a massive contract, but at least we got him.

Anonymous said...

That contract is a white elephant. The A-Rod type scrutiny that Yankee fans thought CC might avoid, is now square on his back. It seems Cashman's selling point was CC being the big man, on the biggest team. Well he better be, or it could get ugly

Greg Cohen said...

You could be right Anon, but I do think New York will like Sabathia more than they like A-Rod, and that will have nothing to do with what either of them do on the field.

Anonymous said...

man, i must agree with you about the contract. it is RIDICULOUS: 7 years for $161 mil? geez....

Greg Cohen said...

Yea crazy, but at least they got him. I'd rather it have turned out this way then having him sign with someone else.

Anonymous said...

@Anon, if his weight starts going north of 300 along with his era, I can already hear the boo birds!

Anonymous said...

The opt out clause after just three years is even more ridiculous. So in 2011 he's going to ask for 30 mil/year or he's bolting for the coast? And now they're going to give Derek Lowe a four or five year deal for 16 mil a year? Are you kidding? Remember when the Yankees were where everyone wanted to play and not just where they could get the most cash? I'm pretty sure there are 29 other teams laughing at the Yanks right now. Sabathia needs to bring nothing less than a World title or this contract will be a waste.

Mike B. said...

A bit too much to spend, but I'm glad they got him. Now let's get Sheets and Tex.

Mike

Anonymous said...

Don't get me wrong, I think the signing of Sabathia is great, but I still think the Yanks need someone like Mark Teixeira even more. I sure hope the C.C. deal isn't their only one -- I'd like to see Teixeira in pinstripes.

Greg Cohen said...

Gary I'd be shocked if the Yankees didn't make at least two more major moves, whether it's trades or signings.

Anonymous said...

Thank god.

Anonymous said...

NEXT MOVE: A.J. Burnett