MLB Scoop

This offseason we’ll do a few speculative articles on impact players who could change teams in either trades or through free agency.  The trade articles are called “Trade Target” and the free agent articles are “Free Agent Fantasy.”

Rumor:  C.C. Sabathia is not interested in playing in New York, according to Peter Gammons of ESPN.   Meanwhile, reports indicate that Derek Jeter has had conversations with Sabathia about the Yankees.

The Market:  The C.C. Sabathia market is a cost prohibitive one.  The standard for Sabathia’s contract was set by the Johan Santana deal and the players union will not look kindly on C.C. for accepting less than what Johan got.  There are few teams that can afford to sign a pitcher for more than a $137.5M, 6-year contract.  They are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Best Fits:  Sabathia is a perfect fit for the Yankees.  They have shed tremendous payroll.  Their top priority is an ace pitcher.  Sabathia has shown he can pitch in the AL and in a pennant race.  He grew up in an urban environment and would not be intimidated by New York.  The only catches here are Gammons’ claim that Sabathia does not want to play in New York and prior rumblings that C.C. prefers the left coast.

The Red Sox can’t be ruled out.  The Yankees, Jr missed out on the World Series and will be looking to improve their team for another run.  Adding C.C. to a rotation with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka would make the Sox prohibitive favorites in the American League and an AL East that looks to be even tougher next year.  If the Red Sox have truly morphed into a clone of their bitter rivals and accept nothing less than a championship, C.C. is perfect buy.

The left coast desire would seem to put the L.A. teams and San Francisco is a good position.  The Giants however were 72-90 last season and regardless of the fact that Buster Olney writes on ESPN that C.C. going there would “make sense”, it doesn’t add up for a pitcher like Sabathia to go to a rebuilding team.  The Dodgers and Angels make a lot more sense.  If Arte Moreno wants to splash the cash, Sabathia would make a lot of sense.  A rotation of Sabathia, Ervin Santana, John Lackey, Joe Saunders and John Garland would be outstanding.  But it makes more sense for the Angels to spend less money and simply re-sign K-Rod.

The Dodgers, however, could be a very good fit.  They are a borderline playoff team as it stands, having only won 83 games last season.  If Manny Ramirez goes elsewhere, Joe Torre’s team will have some cash to spend.  If C.C. enjoyed hitting as much as it seems like he did and he truly wants to be closer to home, we could see him in Dodger Blue next season.

By welcoming C.C., The Cubs could send a message to dispondant fans like Bill Murray, whose hilarious Saturday Night Live “presidental debate” question to the faux-Obama and faux-McCain conveyed the vibe in Cubbie nation.   It would also be a backhanded slap in the face to Milwaukee.

The Mets may be one of the MLB’s monied teams, but Sabathia makes little sense for them after they brought Santana on board.  They may be expecting more revenue from CitiField, but I would consider them a big long shot in this race.  Then again, no one expected them to beat the Yankees and Red Sox to Johan.

The Milwaukee Brewers have made an offer to keep C.C. and there were a few rumblings that the Indians might look to bring him back, but it does not make a lot of sense for those clubs to devote such a high percentage of their payroll over the next 6 years to an overweight if extremely effective pitcher.  Should he break down, the league’s smaller clubs can’t absorb the shock of having such an albatross on their payroll.

The Prediction:   The Yankees will make it happen with Sabathia.  The fit is too perfect and the Bronx Bombers can make the money irresistible to both C.C. and the players union.  The Dodgers would be the team most likely to hijack this scenario.