Open Thread: The Sabathia Deal

Posted by Sarah Green on Wednesday December 10th 2008, 10:23 am, filed in News reel, You Make The Call

The deal is done. CC is a Yankee.

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Tagged: CC Sabathia, winter meetings, Yankees

33 Responses to “Open Thread: The Sabathia Deal”

Nick Kapur Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am
C.C. to the Yankees… MEH.

We all knew he was going to end up pinstriped in the end. I even
predicted the 160 million the other day.

I guess I’m happy though. There is no way C.C. can keep it up for another 7 years.
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Paul Moro Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I’m more interested in what this means for the pitching market as a whole. CC sets the high mark this year and everyone else falls in below him. I think this basically will mean that Lowe and Burnett will get more than they deserve. And probably Ollie Perez too, though less than the other two.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I disagree, Paul. Now that the Yanks have their man, they won’t be in on the bidding for Lowe and Burnett, artificially inflating the price.
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Paul Moro Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:54 am
From what I understand (and this is mere speculation), the Yankees will end up with one of Lowe/Burnett too.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Also, note that the Yankees were seemingly in a bidding war for CC *with themselves.* No one could top their previous offer of $140MM/6 years. They had to throw in another year and another $20MM (give or take) to get him to come to NY, even though the other bidders couldn’t match their initial offer.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 10:57 am
If the Yankees end up with Lowe or Burnett on top of CC, not only will they be back as the team to beat in the AL, it will be clear that they have NO financial restrictions AT ALL.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:02 am
For what it’s worth, MLBTR relays a rumor that the Steinbrenners are now turning their attention to Manny Ramirez.
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Paul Moro Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Having to top their own top bid is the funny part, yes. But CC had a right to do so and actually had some leverage… you know, because he’s fat.

The moment he struggles for more than two straight starts, the NY press is going to be all over his weight. They had a field day with Hideki Irabu (with great assistance from King George). CC didn’t have to deal with that and if he is going to, he wants to be compensated.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
I think CC was wise to hold out for more dough. The thing they always say about selling out is, if it bothers you that you’ve sold out, you should’ve held out for more money.

I think this is a great deal for the Yanks. They filled their greatest need (durable ace) by leveraging their chief competitive advantage (bottomless pockets). They’re not the Giants — even if they only get three or four good years out of this deal, if they win the World Series no one in NY will care.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:09 am
from MLBTR:

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees were discussing a four-year, $66MM deal with Derek Lowe late Tuesday night. Via MetsBlog, Heyman said on WFAN this morning that the Yanks are closing in.
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I think Lowe makes sense for the Yankees because, while Burnett might be a better pitcher, Lowe is less likely to be injured. And the last thing the Yankees need is another injury-prone pitcher. They’ve already got Joba and Hughes.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:22 am
This is huge!!!

“The deal has an opt-out clause after the first three years, which are worth $69MM.”

That’s what got CC to sign, I bet. “Come to NY for three years. If you don’t like it, you can just leave.”
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Ooooooooh…opt out! CC gets paid AND he can finish his career on the west coast. Score!
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I am picturing CC in a muumuu, sipping Bahama Mama, and listening to Kenny Chesney. No shirt, no shoes, no problems….
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Actually, the opt-out is great for the Yankees too. Since every player with an opt-out has taken it (I think?) they essentially signed Sabathia for 3 years, $69MM.
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I’m not sure if this is great for the Yankees. All the players who have taken advantage of their opt outs have done so because they thought they could get more money elsewhere. And they thought that because they were at the top of their games (See: Burnett, Drew). If CC opts out of his huge contract, it will be because he is healthy and pitching well and ready to cash in. In which case, I imagine the Yankees will be loathe to lose him. On the other hand, if he struggles the next three years or is consistently injured, he’ll probably just keep his contract, which would also be bad news for the Bombers.

Of course, a third scenario sees CC opting out of his contract regardless, just so he can pitch on the west coast and work on his tan.
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Paul Moro Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Me likey from the Yankees perspective.
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Alejandro A. Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
hmmmm cheeseburgers…
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
“Tom Haudricourt also learned from Melvin that Sabathia wanted an opt-out clause no matter where he signed, and the Brewers were prepared to offer one.”

Intriguing.
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I just realized that the opt out might change the way a lot of people voted in our poll. I voted that the contract was too many years and too much money. But if the Yankees only end up with CC for three years, then I think they got a great deal.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
There’s another perspective here, too, which is that CC is the kind of teammate that makes “intangibles” tangible. He’ll pitch his arm off for New York if they ask him too. Hell, he’ll do it even if they *don’t* ask him too. He’ll demand the ball even if Girardi doesn’t want to give it to him. He’ll out-Jeter Derek Jeter. He’ll shame A-Rod into manning up. You don’t get that kind of boost to the clubhouse from signing Burnett or Lowe or Sheets. Plus, Sabathia easily puts up better numbers than any of them.
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Sabathia probably puts up better numbers than all of them. Unless it turns out that a 300 pound pitcher who throws frequently on three days rest can’t keep it up forever and succumbs to injury or mediocrity. But what are the odds of that?
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Oddly enough, I predicted a three-year opt-out clause in my spoof post on the CC rumor mill:

http://umpbump.com/press/2008/12/08/cc-sabathia-rumors-monday/

I think I was kidding, though. I think I remember thinking, “What desperate move could the Giants pull to try and compete with New York’s money? I know, one of those gimmicky opt-out clauses! Har har har!”
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
According to Buster Olney:

In the meeting that Sabathia had with the Yankees, a question was asked in the room about whether there was an irreparable split between the two most dominant personalities in the room, A-Rod and Derek Jeter, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman responded by talking about how the two men are just different.
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Pat (Brookfield CT) Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
If the Yankees don’t sign Teixeira they are just treading water with the Sabathia signing. There offense which was mediocre at best last year will be even worse in 2009 with the loss of Giambi and Abreu.
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Coley Ward Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
But Pat, a healthy Posada and a luckier Nick Swisher could mean a better Yankees offense.
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kensai Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/cc-sabathia-signs-with-yankees

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/12/10/688340/sabathia-to-new-york-for-1

I voted yes.

The only potential pitfall I see is injury risk. But I read pieces on his mechanics and his weight and came away unswayed that he’s any more prone than the next guy. Granted, injury can happen to anybody at anytime, so 7 years is always a huge risk.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I don’t think the Yankees should sign Tex. He wants too many years — and now New York is already on the hook for 7 years of Sabathia, assuming he doesn’t opt-out.

The Yanks’ primary concern this year was starting pitching. Now they have a front two of Sabathia and Wang — that’s pretty hot.

With that pitching, and if they can acquire some shorter-term offensive help (Manny Ramirez?) they can make a decent run in the next three years. And in the meantime, they can work on adding more young hitting talent to their farm system, which has been a little heavy on pitching of late.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Kensai, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Any of us could be hit by a bus tomorrow. Also, he’s 6′7″, so he wears it pretty well.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Well, via MLBTR, I see that Jon Heyman says the Yankees are back in the hunt for Tex.
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coley Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 10:28 am
If the Yankees sign CC, Burnett and Tex…well…jeez.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I know. We’re back to the days of the Yankees trying to buy championships.
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Sarah Green Says:
December 11th, 2008 at 11:30 am
More chatter: the Yankees remain interested in Derek Lowe (and will remain interested even if they sign Burnett), who apparently finds NY more appealing now that CC has signed there. There was also talk a while back that Peavy might find the Yankees more palatable if Sabathia joined them. If this is so, there’s clearly a huge ripple effect at work here that goes beyond the numbers Sabathia would put up during the season.

It’s worth mentioning that the Yankees are really only feigning interest in Tex to drive up the price for perennial postseason rivals the Angels and the Red Sox, just the way the Red Sox feigned interest in Sabathia to try and drive up the price for New York.
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