Just when you thought the offseason couldn’t get any worse for the New York Yankees, there is now talk of CC Sabathia possibly opting out of his contract after the 2011 season.
Considering Andy Pettitte’s retirement last week, that would be very, very bad news for Yankees fans with AJ Burnett projected as the team’s ace in 2012 were CC to leave.
Sabathia originally signed a seven-year $161 million contract with New York prior to the 2009 MLB Season. The contract includes an opt-out clause after the third year (2011) which would allow the lefty to become a free agent again or pursue an even better extension with the Yankees.
In October during the team’s playoff run, CC Sabathia told reporters that he had no intentions of opting out of his contract. Now on Monday in Tampa, FLA with a new season looming, Sabathia is changing his tune.
When asked if he would opt out of his contract, Sabathia replied,”I have no idea. It’s still in my contract, anything can happen.”
It is possible that Sabathia truly doesn’t know what he will do following the 2011 MLB Season, it is also possible that his agent instructed him to say that in order to get the New York Yankees thinking about life without CC and what they would do not to lose him.
I think he knows exactly what he intends to do next season. Like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh scheming to join the Miami Heat in 2010, it is my best guess that CC Sabathia intends to partner with friend and former Cleveland Indian teammate Cliff Lee and join the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012.
It might seem unlikely, but did you ever think Lee would be going to Philadelphia instead of New York or Texas? I didn’t think so.