The bidding war for free agent pitcher CC Sabathia has begun.
The Milwaukee Brewers have opened up the bidding for free agent ace Milwaukee Brewers have opened up the bidding for free-agent ace CC Sabathia.
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Monday that the team made a contract proposal to Sabathia over the weekend but wasn’t willing to discuss terms of the offer or assess the team’s chances of keeping its prize pitcher.
“It’s in their hands,” Melvin said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “He hasn’t really had a chance to talk with other teams.”
Sabathia, who went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA for Milwaukee after he was traded from the Cleveland Indians on July 7, filed for free agency over the weekend and is expected to draw interest from big-market teams who could outbid the Brewers. His new deal could top Johan Santana’s $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets.
This is obviously only the beginning. Sabathia will still likely draw offers from the New York Yankees and perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are in great need of a front-of-the-rotation starter. Sabathia has often said that he wants to hit, which would mean he’d eventually settle with a National League team. Money talks, however, and one has to believe that the Yankees are going to come with a substantial offer.
