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NEW YORK -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman joked on Thursday that he hoped to be asleep when the free-agent signing period officially began at midnight the following day. Yet when Cashman woke up on Friday morning, his offseason fireworks officially began.
The Yankees made a record-breaking six-year, $140 million offer to free-agent starter CC Sabathia on Friday, according to multiple industry sources, the first part of their plan to overhaul their rotation. The Bombers have also readied offers for top free agents Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett.
Sabathia's lead agent, Greg Genske, did not immediately return a phone message seeking confirmation.
Considering the timing of the offer, the Yankees took the first opportunity they could to begin luring one of the game's top left-handed pitchers to New York. Major League teams could not discuss contract details with other clubs' free agents until midnight on Friday, and the Yankees reportedly made their first offer to Sabathia the same day.
Despite Sabathia's stated preference to remain in the National League and to pitch in his home state of California, the Yankees are banking on the hope that they might lure him to New York with a richer contract than any other team can afford.
"New York deserves a champion, and that's part of our mission statement," Cashman said recently. "Our ownership has always been fantastic in giving us the resources we need to fix what's broken. They'll be there again for us."
It helps, of course, that when Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano all filed for free agency earlier this month, it gave the Yankees nearly $90 million of payroll flexibility that they didn't have last season. They plugged a hole at first base when they traded for Nick Swisher on Thursday, and so the Yankees could potentially spend the bulk of their extra cash on starting pitchers -- namely Sabathia, Lowe, Burnett or some combination of the three.
Yet even the richest contract offer in history for a starting pitcher might not be enough to lure Sabathia to the Yankees, considering that the Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Brewers, among others, have all expressed interest in the game's premier free-agent starter.
One season after winning the American League Cy Young Award in Cleveland, Sabathia produced a 17-10 record in 35 starts split between the Indians and Brewers. After joining the Brewers in a midseason trade, Sabathia finished 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, striking out more than five times as many batters as he walked and throwing seven complete games, three of them shutouts.
The Yankees made a record-breaking six-year, $140 million offer to free-agent starter CC Sabathia on Friday, according to multiple industry sources, the first part of their plan to overhaul their rotation. The Bombers have also readied offers for top free agents Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett.
Sabathia's lead agent, Greg Genske, did not immediately return a phone message seeking confirmation.
Considering the timing of the offer, the Yankees took the first opportunity they could to begin luring one of the game's top left-handed pitchers to New York. Major League teams could not discuss contract details with other clubs' free agents until midnight on Friday, and the Yankees reportedly made their first offer to Sabathia the same day.
Despite Sabathia's stated preference to remain in the National League and to pitch in his home state of California, the Yankees are banking on the hope that they might lure him to New York with a richer contract than any other team can afford.
"New York deserves a champion, and that's part of our mission statement," Cashman said recently. "Our ownership has always been fantastic in giving us the resources we need to fix what's broken. They'll be there again for us."
It helps, of course, that when Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano all filed for free agency earlier this month, it gave the Yankees nearly $90 million of payroll flexibility that they didn't have last season. They plugged a hole at first base when they traded for Nick Swisher on Thursday, and so the Yankees could potentially spend the bulk of their extra cash on starting pitchers -- namely Sabathia, Lowe, Burnett or some combination of the three.
Yet even the richest contract offer in history for a starting pitcher might not be enough to lure Sabathia to the Yankees, considering that the Mets, Angels, Dodgers and Brewers, among others, have all expressed interest in the game's premier free-agent starter.
One season after winning the American League Cy Young Award in Cleveland, Sabathia produced a 17-10 record in 35 starts split between the Indians and Brewers. After joining the Brewers in a midseason trade, Sabathia finished 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, striking out more than five times as many batters as he walked and throwing seven complete games, three of them shutouts.
