Will CC Sabathia Be the Next New York Yankee?

By the time that MLB Milwaukee Brewers' starting pitcher CC Sabathia signs his next contract he is destined to be the highest paid pitcher in baseball, beating out the 6 year contract of of Johana Santana of the New York Mets. I think that the New York Yankees will bend over backwards to sign CC Sabathia.

According to the Milwaukee Sentinel Sabathia will probably turn down the $100 million dollar offer over 5 years . CC Sabathia will probably be going to a large market team, such as the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, etc. None of the small market teams can afford to pay for a player of this magnitude.

All of these teams need a first class pitcher, especially the Yankees, whose starting pitching amounts to Chien-Ming Wang, who was injured much of last season, and Mike Mussina at 40 years of age is looking like he might retire. The Yankees decision to hand the starting pitching rotation over to Phil Hughes (0-4, 6.62 ERA), Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.60) and Ian Kennedy (0-4, 8.17) was a big mistake.

I believe that the Yankees will pay top dollar for 2007 American Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia because they desperately need a starter. I also believe that they will give him almost anything that he wants. The Yankees have a new 1.3 billion dollar stadium that needs to be filled. Left hander CC Sabathia would definitely help the New York Yankees fill their brand new Stadium. The first game in the new Yankee Stadium will be the Chicago Cubs vs the New York Yankees. .

Sabathia is a premier pitcher who is entering his prime. Last year between the Indians and the Brewers he had a 17-10 W/L record, 256 Ks in 223 innings, over 1k per inning. He had a 3.83 ERA with the Cleveland Indians and a 1.65 ERA with the Milwaukee Brewers. He has a 117 - 73 record and a 3.66 ERA, which is one of the best ERAs in the Majors, over an 8 year period.

CC Sabathia is currently only 28 years of age, and has not had a prolonged injury in his career. Any large market team will pay a astronomical amount of money for Sabathia. It is going to be a classic bidding war, with Sabathia probably going to be the highest paid pitcher in baseball. He will be worth any amount that he receives.

I will personally put my money on Sabathia going to the Yankees. They have deep pockets and they urgently need good quality starting pitching.