CC Sabathia’s options are few with an ocean of dollars separating them.
Yesterday, Angels GM Tony Reagins said his primary focus is on re-signing switch-hitting free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is seeking $20 million a year. Though Angels owner Arte Moreno can afford Teixeira and Sabathia, it’s not his style to spend wildly.
Sabathia, at the head of a class of free-agent pitchers that includes A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, has a six-year, $140 million offer from the Yankees and a reported five-year, $100 million offer from the Brewers, whom he pitched into the postseason last year after being acquired from Cleveland.
It is thought the 28-year-old left-hander prefers San Francisco or Anaheim, but with the Winter Meetings beginning Sunday in Las Vegas, it’s believed he hasn’t received an offer except from the Yankees and Brewers.
Some view Sabathia not taking the Yankees’ offer, which Hal Steinbrenner recently said will not be there forever, as an indication Sabathia doesn’t want to pitch in The Bronx.
Nevertheless, $40 million between offers is too wide of a gap to ignore.
As for Burnett, whom the Yankees are wary about giving a five-year deal, the Braves are preparing a five-year offer to the right-hander.
If Burnett goes elsewhere and Lowe lands in Boston, there is a good chance the Yankees will have to get creative in trade talks to bolster a rotation that presently houses Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain and three huge holes.
With the Braves acquiring Javier Vazquez from the White Sox and looking at Burnett, they are no longer a trade partner for San Diego’s Jake Peavy. Nevertheless, Padres GM Kevin Towers hasn’t been instructed by Peavy’s camp to begin talking to teams outside the NL.