ST. LOUIS — Deep in the meaty palm of CC Sabathia’s left hand lies the key to the Yankees’ offseason.
Sabathia has until 11:59 p.m. Monday to opt out of his contract with the Yankees — and leave four years and $92 million behind — to drop his massive and talented body into a very shallow free-agent pitching pool.
On Oct. 11, Joe Girardi sat at a Yankee Stadium podium and set the tone for the rest of the offseason.
“The one need we’re going to have to address again is the rotation, there’s no doubt about it,” the Yankees manager said. “You have two guys (Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon) who are free agents and another guy (CC Sabathia) who can opt out. It’s similar to what we had to do this year. It all starts with CC and goes from there.”
It certainly does.
If Sabathia returns — and that’s the way to bet for several reasons — the Yankees then can address periphery issues. But should Sabathia split, the Yankees will be left without an ace and will have to over-pay to improve a shaky rotation through free agency or trades.
The Yankees are not averse to giving Sabathia, 31, a five- or six-year deal for a slight raise over the $23 million per year in his original seven-year, $161 million deal, but will balk at seven or eight years. And it’s not likely another team would go that high.
In the bin marked “Other Than Sabathia,” the Yankees are going to pick up Robinson Cano’s $14 million option and do the same with Nick Swisher’s $10.25 million option.
However, Cano isn’t leaving. The same can’t be guaranteed for Swisher, who has trade value because of his salary and being a productive player across three regular seasons in The Bronx when he has hit .267 and averaged 27 homers and 85.3 RBIs. The postseason is a different story, because in three Yankees Octobers the switch-hitting Swisher batted .160 with four homers and five RBIs in 28 games. Swisher can submit a list of teams he would refuse a trade to.
If Sabathia stays, it’s possible the Yankees remain very quiet in the free-agent market, because the big names play positions at which the Yankees are set.
Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are first basemen, and Mark Teixeira has that covered for the next five years.
Even though Brett Gardner hit a disappointing .259, the Yankees don’t figure to chase Carlos Beltran or Michael Cuddyer because they will command three- to four-year deals for significant money.
Making Sabathia so attractive to the Yankees is the same reason he will likely return: The rest of the free-agent starters market is short.
C.J. Wilson is considered the next best starter and not generally viewed as an ace. Some estimate he will get five to six years at $15 million per. At those numbers, the Yankees will likely pass.
Japanese hurler Yu Darvish will draw support but is far from a sure thing based on the way Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa turned out.
Then there are Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda and Roy Oswalt.
See why Sabathia, — 59-23 in three Yankees seasons and 19-8 last summer — is so important to the Yankees?
Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, David Robertson, Brett Gardner and Russell Martin are arbitration eligible.
Martin impressed so much in one year that bringing him back is a no-brainer. And if Jesus Montero progresses, the opportunity to deal Martin will be available to the Yankees at some point.
Francisco Cervelli’s concussion issues aren’t considered career threatening but may hurt his trade value. The Pirates were interested at the trade deadline.