After meeting in Florida this week to formulate a plan to keep CC Sabathia if/when he exercises the opt-out clause in his contract the Yankees have prepared a new contract offer for the 30-year-old left-hander.
David Waldstein of the New York Times reports that they’ll make the proposal to Sabathia and his agent before he can opt out of the current deal, clearly hoping to keep him from hitting the open market.
No details yet on the terms of the new offer, but Waldstein writes that “it would sweeten Sabathia’s already lucrative deal because the Yankees are committed to bringing him back.”
His current deal has four years and $92 million remaining, but Sabathia would have little trouble finding a bigger deal as a free agent even if he ultimately wants to stay in New York. Cliff Lee’s five-year, $120 million contract with the Phillies from last offseason seems like an obvious starting point.