MLB

Yankees pick up options on Swisher, Cano

The Yankees picked up the contract options on Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher last night, but those moves, which had been expected, take a back seat to whether CC Sabathia is going to become a free agent.

They will find out about the big lefty soon enough.

Sabathia has until tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. to opt out of his seven-year, $161 million contract that has four years and $92 million left on it.

After team officials met in Tampa, Fla., last week to come up with a deal to present Sabathia and his agents before tomorrow’s opt-out deadline.

There was no word as of yesterday whether that had been done. If he does void the remaining years on his contract, Sabathia could start hearing from other teams as soon as Thursday and with the lack of aces available in free agency this offseason, he would instantly move to the top of the list.

Sabathia repeatedly has said how much he likes New York and pitching for the Yankees, but there certainly are no guarantees that he would stay if given the opportunity to listen to other teams.

The Nationals, Tigers and Blue Jays are among the teams that could end up taking a shot at Sabathia, given the chance, with the Cubs and Angels also possibilities.

The Yankees wouldn’t mind taking all of those teams out of the equation by reaching an agreement with Sabathia, who has won 59 games in three seasons in The Bronx.

It could take an additional seven years, but the Yankees might be hesitant to go that long with a pitcher who is already 31 and battling weight problems.

For general manager Brian Cashman, who also is expected to have a new contract by as early as tomorrow, exercising the options on Cano ($14 million) and Swisher ($10.25 million) wasn’t much of a decision.

Cano’s price is affordable considering what he provides the Yankees, because he has become their most consistent offensive threat. Cashman, though, will still have to decide what to do with Swisher, who could be moved after another solid year was again followed by a disappointing postseason, though he does have a partial no-trade clause.