On Monday, I was of the opinion that the Yankees had an ace in their hand during negotiations with CC Sabathia because Sabathia's agent wouldn't want to be the guy who walked away from the richest pitching contract in history. Little did I know that Greg Genske needed no such validation. Quite the opposite, in fact. Genske, with no counteroffer in the neighborhood, got Sabathia his deal and a whole lot more.
The final numbers, seven years and $161 million, are staggering. The Yankees, in a sluggish real world and baseball economy, outbid everyone else by tens of millions even though they established themselves as the biggest spenders moments after free agency opened. That extra year at $21 million may have sealed the deal for them, but it also showed just how desperate the Yankees were to sign a player who won't necessarily give them a higher likelihood of making the playoffs next fall.
So did giving Sabathia an opt-out clause three years and $69 million into the deal. Sabathia was clear about his hesitancy to go to New York, this gives him an escape route that, given the total amount of money, should have been totally unnecessary. It's a lose-lose for the Yankees. If Sabathia pitches well, even if he loves everything about New York, he'll opt out and demand more money. He'll only be 31 and could top the $92 million left in the remaining on his deal at that point.
If he gets hurt or struggles with weight or just pitches badly, however, the Yankees will be on the hook for four more years with a pitcher who will be wildly overpaid. There's talk of a no-trade clause, given everything else why wouldn't there be? We should just be happy that they didn't get the city to grant him Prima Nocta, the right to sleep with every woman before her husband on her wedding day.
Don't begrudge Sabathia his money or the time he took getting it. That's his right and if he didn't want to play in New York, so be it. You have to wonder, if it takes that much to convince someone to change his mind, is it really such a hot idea?
