MLB

YANKS & METS FACE COMPETITION FOR FREE-AGENT ARMS THEY CRAVE

BASED on reporting, history and hunch, I believe that if some

other team is going to beat the Yankees to CC Sabathia, it is going to be the Angels. And if some other team is going to beat

the Mets to a top-tier, freeagent closer such as Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes, it is going to be the Brewers.

Here is why:

SABATHIA – The Angels have prioritized resigning Mark Teixeira. But they also have made it clear they are unwilling to endure Scott Boras’ familiar game of protracted negotiations. No agent uses the angst created by the combination of the ticking clock and uncertainty over what other teams might be bidding nearly as well as Boras.

The Angels, obviously, do not want to be in a similar place to where the Astros were after the 2004 season. That winter, Houston waited and waited for Carlos Beltran, a Boras client, to

decide, and the center fielder picked the Mets in mid- January. The Astros had not secured their No. 1 target, and so much offseason clock had elapsed that their second and third choices had vanished, as well.

“One thing I can tell you about (Angels owner) Arte

Moreno is he won’t get jerked around,” a rival executive

said.

Translation: He will make a substantial offer to Teixeira with a time limit. I believe it is possible the Angels have told Sabathia’s representatives to be patient because if Teixeira

goes beyond that time limit, then the Angels will refocus

on Sabathia.

The Yanks also have indicated they will put a time limit on their six-year, $140 million offer for Sabathia. But that is a worthless time limit. They said last year they would not re-sign Alex Rodriguez if he opted out, and then not only brought him back, but did so on a record contract. So their credibility on this issue is zero.

The Yanks’ record pitching package offer may not be enough for Sabathia, anyway. He has placed a value on either the NL and/or West Coast, and could take less to fill at least one of those desires. How? Remember that Johan Santana’s current pitching record deal of six years at $137.5 million is loaded with deferrals that make the real present-day annual average not $22.92 million, but $20.66 million. So maybe a West Coast team only has to beat that lower annual total. Six years at $127 million would do that while also beating the total ($126 million) Barry Zito received in his seven-year deal with the Giants.

The Angels have salary room with Garret Anderson, Jon Garland and Francisco Rodriguez coming off the books. But they have John Lackey and Vladamir Guerrero due off next offseason, and you would have to wonder if they sign Sabathia now, do they have to do a similar deal to retain Lackey? Also, the Angels have shown a willingness, to date, to exceed four-year lengths in contracts with position players (Gary Matthews, Torii Hunter, Guerrero), but not pitchers.

Also, signing Sabathia and losing Teixeira would just worsen their biggest problem, a lack of offensive heft. That is why Teixeira tops their wish list. But if they cannot act quickly with Teixeira, the Angels perhaps lurk as the Yanks’ main competition for Sabathia.

FUENTES/K-ROD – The Brewers made the playoffs despite a late-inning bullpen that rivaled that of the Mets for untrustworthiness. Both teams suffered

11 blown saves after the eighth inning, which was tied for second most in the majors. The champion Phillies, who beat the Mets in the NL East and the Brewers in the Division Series, had zero blown saves in such situations.

Now Milwaukee also lost its version of Luis Ayala as Salomon Torres announced his retirement, leaving Milwaukee without even a pseudo closer.

Also, what the Mets must know about Milwaukee is that the Brewers have a willingness to pay for this job. They made a four-year, $40 million-range offer to retain Francisco Cordero last offseason. When Cordero accepted a four-year, $45.5 million package from Cincinnati instead, the Brewers reacted by giving a one-year, $10 million hope-and-prayer pact to Eric Gagne. The hopes were smashed.

The problem for Milwaukee is Sabathia and Ben Sheets are free agents, too. The Brewers have made an offer to retain Sabathia that almost certainly will be rejected. Sheets is a top starter when healthy, who is never healthy enough. He finished the season with more arm problems. His agent, Casey Close, naturally has downplayed the seriousness of the injury. But the industry is leery of doing long-term business with a pitcher as brittle as Sheets. And what complicates matters for Sheets is that he is a Type-A free agent. Thus, a team not only would have to inherit the injury risk to sign him, but forfeit a first-round draft pick, as well. That is a combination that promises to severely curtail his market.

One theory floated by several executives is that Sheets could accept arbitration from the Brewers, do a one-year contract (think the $15 million range), and try to repair his reputation to go back on the market next offseason, when perhaps the economy will be better, as well.

Regardless of whether they keep Sheets or not, Milwaukee will have to spend on starting pitching. So that perhaps is the deterrence to investing big on a closer. But for now, the Brewers look to be the most likely rival for the Mets in bidding up the contracts of Fuentes and/or Rodgriguez.

joel.sherman@nypost.com