CC Sabathia Free-Agent News: 7 Teams with the Cash to Take Him from Yankees

With the 2011 season officially over for the Yankees following a 3-2 Game 5 loss to the Tigers in the ALDS, all eyes are focused squarely on the "big man."  Yankees ace CC Sabathia has reached the infamous opt-out clause in his contract, which allows him to walk away from the remaining four years and $92 million on his record-setting contract.  Now, while the rest of us would view such a decision as selfish and greedy, CC and his agent look at it as a chance to make even more money because, after all, baseball is first and foremost a business.

While the general consensus is that CC will eventually re-sign with the Yankees, it isn't entirely out of the realm of possibilities that he could entertain other offers.  This offseason's free-agent class is especially weak in starting pitching, with the two "top prizes" seemingly being the Rangers' reliever-turned-"ace" C.J. Wilson, and the unproven Japanese superstar, Yu Darvish.  It's likely both CC and one of these two will sign with the Yankees, but last offseason Cliff Lee showed us that the Yankees actually don't always get what they want, so now we must assume anything is possible.

Still, any team that wants to try to woo CC away from New York would have to beat the Yankees' offer, and only a handful of teams have that capability.  Not many organizations have the deep pockets to rival the Steinbrenners, so what I'm going to do is identify the few that do. 

I would normally include the St. Louis Cardinals in this discussion, but seeing as they will have their hands quite full this offseason trying to sign franchise icon Albert Pujols, I'm going to assume that they will sit this one out.  That still leaves 7 clubs that I see as potential contenders for the big fella, and all of them will likely give CC's agent a jingle.

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have taken the first step towards ending their 104-year curse, and that step was hiring the "Curse-Killer," Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.  This move proves that they are finally for real and that the Ricketts family is willing to do whatever it takes to win a World Series.  The pressure was on when Epstein was hired back in 2002, and it took him less than two years to end the Curse of the Bambino.  How long will it take him to break the Curse of the Billy Goat?

Stealing CC Sabathia away from his former rivals, Brian Cashman and the Yankees, would be a huge step towards making his latest dream a reality.  The Cubbies do not have an ace, plain and simple.  Carlos Zambrano was an ace, but now he's a has-been.  Ryan Dempster looked like a potential ace for a second, but he is at best a 3-4 starter.  Acquiring Matt Garza from the Rays looked like an attempt to give Chicago's rotation an anchor, but somehow Garza did not pitch as well in the NL Central as he did in the AL East.  Go figure.

After 104 years, desperation starts to sink in.  The Cubs will be spending a lot of money sooner rather than later, so expect them to be more than willing to cough up the six years and $150 million CC will likely be seeking. 

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are once again American League Champions.  What these back-to-back pennants tell players is that this club is for real, and they are legitimately perennial contenders now, right alongside the Yankees and...well, not really the Red Sox anymore.

The Rangers will once again retain almost their entire roster from this potential World Series championship-winning club, so just like last year, there will only be room for improvement.  Last offseason, that improvement was third baseman Adrian Beltre.  This offseason, the Rangers will likely desire ace lefty CC Sabathia. 

The Rangers will yet again be losing their ace, if you can actually call C.J. Wilson an ace, just like they lost Cliff Lee last year.  This means that they will either have to cough up the huge contract to Wilson, who has only been a starter for two years, or give the monster contract to Sabathia.  Sabathia is a bona fide ace, while Wilson is unproven, so clearly the big guy is the safe bet.

The Rangers will likely make an offer on CC but, in the end, I don't see the big lefty heading to Arlington.  I feel like Sabathia is at the point in his career where he wants to sign his last contract, and he won't want to risk landing somewhere he might feel uncomfortable.  He'll likely choose a place with at least some familiarity.

Boston Red Sox

Now, I know what you're thinking: "CC on the Red Sox?!  Are you CRAZY?!"

I agree, seeing Sabathia in a Boston uniform would chill me to the bone, but it's hard to rule out the possibility.  The Red Sox have just suffered the greatest collapse in the history of baseball, so you have to assume that they will be desperate to do anything that will help right the ship in 2012.  Signing CC Sabathia would be pretty much the biggest splash they could make other than signing Albert Pujols.  However, seeing as they have no room for Pujols, they are more likely to target CC.

Now, some of you are thinking, "Would the Red Sox even try to sign a guy who loves the Yankees as much as Sabathia?" Might I remind you that Epstein gave Fernando Cuza a call last offseason.  Who's Fernando Cuza, you ask?  Cuza is the agent of legendary Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera.  If the Red Sox inquired about Rivera, they will have no qualms about making Sabathia an offer.

However, just because the Red Sox will be interested in CC, that doesn't mean CC will be interested in the Red Sox.  If the Red Sox are serious about acquiring Sabathia, they will likely have to blow away the competition.  Even if they outbid the Yankees by a year or a couple million, it's far more likely Sabathia leaves that extra bit on the table and stays in New York.  Not every player is comfortable changing sides within the rivalry, and something tells me CC isn't like Johnny Damon and David Cone.  If the Sox want a rotation of Sabathia, Beckett, Lester, Buchholz and Lackey, it's going to cost them.

Philadelphia Phillies

I think the picture of Cliff Lee pretty much sums up why the Philadelphia Phillies can't be ruled out of the running for CC Sabathia.  Absolutely no one expected Cliff Lee to sign with Philadelphia last year.  It was Texas or the Bronx, case closed.  When the Yankees threw in the seventh year, we were photoshopping hats with interlocking NYs on his head.  Then it was announced that Lee had returned to Philly.  "Flabbergasted" didn't even begin to describe the feeling of the baseball world.

So how would the Phillies even begin to find room for a fifth ace in their rotation?  Easy: exercise the $2 million buyout on Roy Oswalt's contract instead of the $16 million option for 2012, let him walk and show the world yet again why it's no coincidence that the Phillies uniforms have those familiar pinstripes on them, only in red. 

Oswalt is aging and is far too injury-prone to be paid $16 million after the kind of season he had in 2011.  The Phillies also have yet another fantastic starting pitcher in standout rookie Vance Worley, so they likely wouldn't miss Oswalt too much, even if they failed to sign Sabathia.

The point I'm trying to make is that when it comes to the Phillies and Ruben Amaro Jr., anything is possible.

Washington Nationals

Most people don't really think about the Washington Nationals when it comes to big-time free agents.  After all, they only just this year finished in third place for the first time in their existence.  Every other season found them fighting to stay out of the cellar of the division, a fight they usually lost.  However, last offseason the Nationals came out of nowhere to award free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth with a 7-year $126 million contract. 

Most people don't realize just how rich owner Ted Lerner is.  According to Forbes.com, Lerner is estimated to be worth around $3.5 billion.  The Nationals can literally compete with anyone, including the Yankees, with just about any free agent they desire.  Will they go after CC Sabathia if he opts out of his contract with the Yankees?  I don't know, but if they decide they want CC to pitch in DC next year, it'll be tough for the Yankees to compete. 

Pairing Sabathia up with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann atop Washington's rotation would instantly make them a force to be reckoned with in the National League.  If they also sign either Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, and phenom outfielder Bryce Harper is all he's being hyped to be, the Nationals could find themselves contending as soon as next year.

That's a lot of "ifs," but with a team with as much money as the Nats, you just never know.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were once the perennial favorites in the AL West, but now they've been forced to watch their division rivals, the Texas Rangers, win the AL Pennant in back-to-back seasons.  This season, they managed to stay in the race all the way into the final month of the season, when they eventually lost momentum and wound up 10 games back in the division standings, five back in the wild card.  Despite fantastic seasons by their two aces Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, along with a career year from Ervin Santana, the Angels just didn't have enough to make the postseason.

Now the Angels are truly lacking in offense, so it is far more likely that we will see them go after the big-name bats of the free-agent market, such as Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or Jose Reyes, but adding another ace couldn't possibly hurt their chances. Even though it didn't quite work out for the Phillies, having three aces (honestly, did anyone ever actually consider Roy Oswalt an ace?) gives you a pretty decent chance at winning a title.  The Phils were just slumping at a poor time against a hot team. 

If the Angels managed to steal CC Sabathia away from the Yankees this offseason, they would instantly become the favorites in the same AL West division that contains those powerful Rangers.  Imagine a rotation of Weaver, Sabathia, Haren, Santana and rookie Tyler Chatwood.  Forget the "Phantastic Four," the Angels would have the best rotation in recent memory.

Add onto the fact that CC Sabathia is from California, and was honestly considering signing with a West Coast team in 2008 because of how much he loves it there, and the Angels actually have a great chance at stealing Sabathia from New York.  It's just a question of whether they want to spend their money on another arm, or some bats to back up the arms they already have.

Milwaukee Brewers

How soon we forget about those guys in Milwaukee.

The Brewers followed up a spectacular offseason with a deep October run, finally succumbing to their bitter rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in Game 6 of the NLCS.  This was an especially painful loss to the Brewers due to the impending free agency of their star slugger, first baseman Prince Fielder.  It is the second straight postseason appearance for the Brewers that will see them lose one of the major driving forces of their team to free agency.  The first?  In 2008, when the Brewers won the NL Wild Card completely thanks to—you guessed it—CC Sabathia.

The big fella was traded by the Indians to the Brewers at the trade deadline in 2008, and upon joining the team, took it upon himself to make sure that Milwaukee made the playoffs.  After becoming a Brewer, CC went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 130.2 innings, spanning 17 starts.  He tossed nine complete games as a Brewer, three of them being shutouts.  Sabathia simply dominated during his stay in the NL Central, and would likely do so again if he was to return.  He speaks fondly of his time in Milwaukee, and calls it the best season of his career—after the 2009 championship season, of course.

I could genuinely see Sabathia going back to the Brew Crew, except for one minor detail.  One of CC's favorite parts about Milwaukee was playing with his best friend, Prince Fielder.  As I said before, Fielder is set to become a free agent, and while the Brewers might be able to bring him back, they definitely would not be able to afford both Fielder and Sabathia.  If they decide to just go after CC, their lack of Prince might hurt their chances at convincing him to return.

If the Brewers could find the money to bring both of them back, they would, without a doubt, be the best team in the NL. But in the end, I see Sabathia re-upping with the Yankees.  He has publicly stated how much he loves New York, he will make the playoffs every year with the Yankees and, quite frankly, they are probably the only team that will give him what he wants. 

Sorry to disappoint for those of you who wanted me to predict Sabathia's departure, but the big guy is going to stay in the Big Apple.  End of story.

Follow me on Twitter  @ChrisSbalcio