New York Yankees keen to deal with CC Sabathia – MLB News
The New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman and Ace Carsten Charles Sabathia’s agent are eager to finalise the deal of the starter on Saturday, according to the official sources inside Major League Baseball.
Both the club and the baseball circles look at the deal with a keen interest as without any concrete decision, the left-hander starter may turn into a free agent by the end of the next week. Both parties have given an indication to avoid this from happening,
according to major news sources.
Yankees have a keen eye on the 31-year-old starter for two reasons. Lack of backup of the same calibre to replace Sabathia without damaging the pitching depth and an unquestionable performance of the ace in 2011 will drive Cashman to decide it soon. Sabathia
went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and secured the second position in American League in both wins and strike-outs (230). The gigantic pitcher had also taken the club into the 2009 World Series and won 59 outings in the last three years.
It was reported a few days ago that the 31-year-old Sabathia might consider exercising his opt-out clause of his contract and take 92-million-dollars of his current deal by the end of this week. However, he did not come up with any decision, which has driven
more rumours. If Sabathia uses his opt out clause, any Major League team will be free to negotiate with the aggressive starter to by the end of next week.
Some sources have stated that the pitcher could change his mind to avoid the drama of free agency and please both teams by reaching a deal before Tuesday’s deadline. His seven year contract worth 161-million-dollars is already the largest in MLB pitching
history. Sabathia gets 23-million-dollars annual fee, the second largest after Cliff Lee, who was also approached by the club in last post-season. Lee currently has a 24-million-dollar annual contract for five years with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sabathia's agent, Brian Peters, told a reporter, "We will exhaust all of our efforts to reach a new agreement with the Yankees."
Sabathia’s wife and children lives in New York and their fondness with the New Jersey community could easily be judged. In his last three years, Sabathia did not use his opt-out clause just because he has grown to love playing in New York. Yankees and Sabathia
will discuss extensively for next three days.
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