MLB Free Agency 2012: Rangers Better off Signing C.J. Wilson, Not CC Sabathia

Right now, the only thing the Texas Rangers have to worry about is beating the St. Louis Cardinals to earn their first World Series championship. One way or another, staff ace C.J. Wilson will play a major role in the Series.

There's also a possibility that Wilson could throw his final pitches in his Rangers career. He's due to become a free agent this offseason, and the word around the campfire is that Wilson may take his talents elsewhere.

Especially if the New York Yankees' ace lefty CC Sabathia opts out of his contract. Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com reported a couple days ago that the Rangers are prepared to make a run at Sabathia if and when he opts out.

I've had a few days to mull the report over, and I'm still not entirely sure I buy the idea. It almost seems like a clever ruse designed to coax Sabathia into opting out. If he does, the Yankees will have to offer him a considerable raise on his already gaudy annual salary, thus leaving them with less financial leeway to lure Wilson away from the Rangers.

But that's just a theory.

If it is indeed true that the Rangers are eyeing Sabathia, my opinion is that they would be making a mistake by pursuing him. This is not to say that Sabathia is a bad pitcher, mind you.

On the contrary, he's a great pitcher. There are only so many pitchers that you can mark down for about 18 wins, an ERA in the low 3.00s, 200-plus strikeouts and upwards of 230 innings—Sabathia is one of them. Moreover, he's only 31, and he really hasn't shown any signs that he's about to slow down. He also seems like a perfect Nolan Ryan guy.

However, there are only so many pitchers out there who can also command a salary of over $25 million a year. In fact, Sabathia is probably the only one. And because he made $24 million in 2011, he could very well sign for nothing less than $26 or $27 million a year. Maybe even $30 million.

If the Rangers were actually to offer Sabathia that kind of money and then bring him aboard, he would be the highest-paid player on the team by well over $10 million.

Needless to say, that's a pretty huge financial commitment to make for a guy who really isn't all that much better than Wilson.

Just take a look at the numbers. Wilson is a late bloomer, but he's getting better every year. He pitched over 200 innings and had an ERA of 3.35 in 2010, and he logged 223.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.94 in 2011.

You don't have to believe that Wilson is as good or better than Sabathia, but we can all agree that he'll certainly be cheaper. He's going to be overpaid thanks to a very weak pitching market, but he can probably be signed for at least $10 million less per year than Sabathia. That's money that the Rangers can use elsewhere.

Some have even suggested the Rangers as a possible fit for either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols. I'm not sure the Rangers will go out there and get either one of those guys, but it would be much easier for them to do so if they save themselves some money by signing Wilson instead of Sabathia.

If the Rangers choose to sign Sabathia instead, it would be hard to see them making any other significant moves. He would be their main offseason prize and would likely be their only offseason prize.

It's not like the Rangers need much, of course. You don't make it to two straight World Series by being lucky. They're a good, well-run organization.

The last thing they want to be, though, is an organization that is too liberal with its money. That's a dangerous path to tread, especially in a state where baseball isn't exactly king.