CC Sabathia Free Agent Rumors: 10 Teams That Will Be in the Mix to Sign Him

CC Sabathia is not ready to say so yet, but the New York Yankees ace will most likely opt out of his contract at season's end. Sabathia signed for seven years prior to 2009, but stands to gain at least $10 million by forgoing the final four years of that contract and hitting the open market in November.

The Boston Red Sox will be one interested party, if only in order to bid up Sabathia's services for the rival Yankees.

Beyond those two, though, it's a tricky market for Sabathia. Any team would love to have him, but few can afford a nine-figure commitment and those who can might be reticent to spend so much on a pitcher with a very bad body. Nonetheless, the offers will come.

Here are 10 teams who will at least get involved in the Sabathia sweepstakes.

10. Miami Marlins

The Marlins have a new manager and a new ballpark opening in April. Now all they need is some new talent, because they really lag behind the rest of the NL East in that regard. Signing Sabathia would be a coup and the Fish might finally have some money to spend, as they anticipate an increase in revenue from their new park.

9. New York Mets

The Mets' offense was actually not bad this season, despite missing Ike Davis for most of the season. If they can re-sign Jose Reyes, the Mets would need only to stockpile some arms in order to get competitive. Sabathia, paired with a healthy Johan Santana going forward, would fit that bill nicely.

8. Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays are always talking about the day when they will open their wallets a bit and start surprising people. At this point, the surprise will be if those expenditures actually materialize, but it sure would be sweet for GM Alex Anthopoulos to sneak up on both the Yankees and Red Sox and run off with the prime free agent of the winter.

7. Texas Rangers

C.J. Wilson is the only pitcher on the market with anything like Sabathia's allure and he figures to land on one of the AL East monsters before New Year's. Looking to replace him, and working with seriously augmented resources, the Rangers might make a run at revenge on those clubs by bidding hot and heavy on Sabathia.

6. San Francisco Giants

The rumors are almost too persistent not to be true, but the Giants should not logically be in the running for their hometown hero, Sabathia. They need far too much offensive help to focus on adding yet another pitcher.

5. Washington Nationals

The Nats have the richest ownership group in the game, so money should not be an issue. At least it had better not be, since they apparently had $126 million to give Jayson Werth last winter. Putting Sabathia alongside Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann would probably be a more interesting and compelling way to push the team forward than signing either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, though those rumors seem to have more juice in them.

4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels absolutely have money to spend, but with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren already in place, the team might elect to get aggressive about improving their offense instead. If not, though—or if LA simply misses out on Pujols, Fielder and Reyes—Sabathia would enter a ridiculously favorable environment in Angel Stadium. It's a pitcher's park and with Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos in the projected outfield, it's really a pitcher's everything.

3. Chicago Cubs

The word out of the offices at Wrigley Field the past month or so has been that the Cubs would take a pass on major free-agent involvement this winter in favor of a rebuilding program based on youth. 

Not so fast. With the arrival of Theo Epstein as GM, everything changed. Epstein, it stands to reason, will want to make a splash of some sort this winter. The Cubs are more likely suitors to Fielder or Pujols, but failing those, they could also bring in Sabathia for mega-millions.

2. Boston Red Sox

It's no secret: Pitching was the problem for Boston down the stretch, the reason they collapsed and lost the Wild Card on the season's final day. Even sans Epstein, they will surely be looking to add some substantial help on the mound. That could be Wilson, but in a perfect world for the Sox, it would be Sabathia.

1. New York Yankees

Always bet on incumbents. Be it politics or sports, those who already have something of great value tend not to give it up. The Yankees also have more money to throw at the problem than anyone else, so unless Brian Cashman has reservations about the man's future viability due to his frame, Sabathia will be back at the front of the New York rotation in 2012.