CC Sabathia: 10 Teams That Would Be Licking Their Chops If He Left the Yankees
February 14, 2011 · Anthony Baratta · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
CC Sabathia is among the best pitchers in MLB today. He signed a huge contract with the Yankees in the 2008 offseason. The 161 million dollar contract made Sabathia the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. In said contract CC was given an opt out clause after three seasons. Since the middle of last season all indications had been, Sabathia would stay in pinstripes for the foreseeable future.
Today CC made headlines by saying that he has not closed the door on the opt out clause. He told reporters I have no idea [if I will opt out,]” a noticeably lighter Sabathia said in the Yankees clubhouse Monday morning, as pitchers and catchers reported. “It is still in my contract. Anything is possible.”
Sabathia still has four years left on his record-breaking contract. To go along with that he also has 90 million dollars on the table if he continues to play in New York. Hank Steinbrenner stated that he thinks Sabathia will stay, “I think he’s happy here, and now he really knows what it’s like to be a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said. “Had another excellent year last year. I think he’s here to stay.”
So could this just be a ploy to get more money out of the Yankees? Sabathia has had two outstanding seasons in pinstripes so he does have leverage over the Yankee front office. In both of these seasons he has also pitched very well in postseason play. Yet it seems unlikely that at 31, Sabathia could secure another lucrative contract offer.
It would be a serious blow to the Yankees if CC did use the opt out clause. They missed out on Cliff Lee this offseason. Their rotation is already full of question marks, but without their ace left-hander it’s hard to see how they could recover.
However, the following ten teams would love to see CC jump the Yankees ship.
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