MLB Free Agents 2012: CC Sabathia's Extension Will Make CJ Wilson Even Richer

CC Sabathia was expected to opt out of his contract with the New York Yankees and test the free agent waters. Instead, he chose to stay with the team and agreed to a one-year extension through 2016. This is bad news for teams who were going to bid on him, but great news for C.J. Wilson.

Wilson was always going to be the second-best pitcher on the market, after Sabathia. But now that he does not have to wait and see what is going to happen with him, he can get started on negotiating contracts with teams that were going to throw a truckload of money at a starting pitcher.

While Wilson is not a No. 1 starter, he is going to get paid big money by virtue of being the best pitcher available. Teams are always desperate to acquire starters who they can plug in to the top of their rotation, and they'll pay virtually any price.

One team to keep an eye on, according to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, is the Washington Nationals. They are not above overpaying a free agent just to try and make a splash—see: Jayson Werth last winter—and it would give them insurance in the event that Stephen Strasburg has to miss a few starts as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

While that seems like a lot of money to throw at a soon-to-be 31-year-old pitcher, the reality is that pitchers always get overvalued.

The Nationals won’t be the only team who comes calling Wilson. 

The Yankees, who are desperate for more starting pitching and have no financial restrictions at all, reportedly contacted Wilson's agent on Saturday. General manager Brian Cashman said that he is "just starting the process."

It will be interesting to see how high the Yankees go with an offer for Wilson, assuming they make one, because the Sabathia extension may end up making Wilson too rich—even for them. 

The Rangers, who have been Wilson's team for his entire career, could get involved in the process if they feel that their rotation will fall apart without him. 

Considering that the Rangers were going to throw a ton of money at Sabathia, they might as well turn their attention to Wilson. 

Regardless of who gets involved in the bidding, it is going to get pricey and competitive.

Sabathia did what was best for him, and in the process, he is going to help Wilson become a much more valuable asset on the market than he otherwise would have been.