Yankees, Cashman Agree To Extension
TUESDAY: The Yankees officially announced Cashman's new three-year deal, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
FRIDAY: Theo Epstein is gone, Andy MacPhail isn't coming back, and Andrew Friedman appeared to entertain the idea of leaving. But the longest-tenured general manager in the American League East is staying put. The Yankees have agreed to an extension with GM Brian Cashman, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The sides agreed to a three-year deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter) and they are waiting for the World Series to end before making any announcements.
The Yankees have won four championships under Cashman, who took over New York's baseball operations department before the 1998 season. The 44-year-old has built playoff teams in 13 out of a possible 14 seasons. MLBTR's Transaction Tracker offers a look back at his many moves. I looked ahead to the Yankees' offseason earlier in the week. Cashman's primary offseason goal will be acquiring starting pitching.
C.C. Sabathia Signing Reactions
Last night the Yankees completed a contract extension with ace C.C. Sabathia, adding one guaranteed year and an additional $30MM and preventing him from opting out and reaching the open market. The new total is $122MM over five guaranteed years, with the $24.4MM average annual value representing a record for a pitcher. If Sabathia avoids a shoulder injury in 2016, a 2017 option will vest and the total will become $147MM over six years.
As with Cliff Lee and the Phillies last year, it's hard to call a record-setting contract a discount. However, I believe Sabathia would have landed six guaranteed years in that same $147MM range, at minimum, on the open market. A seventh guaranteed year wouldn't have been out of the question. It's a huge contract, but Sabathia took significantly less guaranteed money to stay in New York. On to today's C.C.-related links…
- "It was an easy choice" to stay with the Yankees, Sabathia told reporters. Avoiding free agency was a big motivation for him.
- The Yankees can now "shop in comfort rather than desperation," writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman still expects the Yankees to bid for the right to negotiate with Yu Darvish, if the righty is posted. He also thinks the team will explore the trade market for another left-handed starter.
- Yesterday "wasn't a great day for Yankees fans," writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday, but "it could've been much worse."
- "The number of elite pitchers who excel throughout their 30s should make us accepting of the deal," writes Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues.
Quick Hits: Price, Aardsma, Willingham, Angels
Happy Halloween to MLBTR's readers! We've already seen C.C. Sabathia sign an extension and Tony La Russa retire today. Here are some more updates from around MLB…
- Rays left-hander David Price opted out of the contract he signed when Tampa Bay drafted him, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. He's still under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player, however. Price could earn $7-8MM in 2012 through arbitration according to MLBTR's projections, so declining his $2.433MM option was merely a formality.
- David Aardsma, who became a free agent today, wouldn't rule out returning to the Mariners, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
- Agent Matt Sosnick told Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group that he expects Josh Willingham to sign a three-year deal and doesn’t expect his client to re-sign with the Athletics (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees executive Billy Eppler was the runner-up to Jerry Dipoto in the Angels' search for a GM (Twitter link).
- The White Sox announced that they hired Jeff Manto to be their hitting coach, Joe McEwing to be their third base coach and Mark Parent to be their bench coach (Twitter link).
- Dave Cameron introduces FanGraphs' top 50 free agents of the offseason. MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents is on its way as well.
Yankees, C.C. Sabathia Agree To Extension
C.C. Sabathia has agreed to a precedent-setting contract that will keep him in pinstripes and off of the free agent market. The 31-year-old left-hander announced on his Twitter account and on Zoodig.com that he has agreed to a new deal with the Yankees.
He could have opted out of the remaining four years and $92MM of his original seven-year, $161MM contract with New York by midnight tonight. Instead, he gets a deal that guarantees him $122MM and could be worth as much as $142MM. Sabathia will earn $24.4MM per season over the course of the five guaranteed seasons — slightly more than his former teammate, Cliff Lee, obtained last offseason and more than any other pitcher has obtained on a multiyear deal. Sabathia's original contract is still the largest guaranteed total for any pitcher in history.
“CC is the ace of our pitching staff, a leader in our clubhouse and a driving force for the Yankees in our community,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “He is exactly the type player and person that Yankees fans and this organization can be proud of.”
The sides agreed to add a $25MM salary for 2016 and a vesting option worth the same amount for 2017 ($5MM buyout), according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The option automatically vests unless Sabathia finishes the 2016 season on the DL with a left shoulder injury, spends 45 days on the DL with a left shoulder injury, or makes at least six relief appearances in 2016 due to shoulder problems, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (all Twitter links).
The Yankees originally offered Sabathia a five-year contract worth $120.5MM according to Sherman (on Twitter), but the team increased their offer today to prevent their ace from opting out and hitting the open market. Olney reports (on Twitter) that the two sides are still awaiting contract language approval.
Though Cashman's offseason became much simpler tonight, it's by no means complete. The Yankees will likely explore deals for pitching and look to solidify their bullpen and bench.
Remaining Contract Options
By the end of today, teams and players must decide on all 2012 contract options. Here's what's left:
Cardinals
- Rafael Furcal – $12MM club option with a $1.3MM buyout. This is a lock to be declined, unless the Cardinals sign him to an extension first.
- Octavio Dotel – $3.5MM club option with a $750K buyout. I'm guessing the Cardinals will exercise this option.
Yankees
- Rafael Soriano – may opt out of remaining two years, $25MM. Scott Boras says Soriano is "highly unlikely" to opt out.
Yankees Made New Offer To Sabathia
The Yankees officially submitted a new contract offer to C.C. Sabathia over the weekend, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. The terms of the offer were not disclosed, but Matthews writes that Yankees insiders still expect Sabathia to test the free agent market despite the proposal. Sabathia has yet to respond to the offer, says Matthews' source:
"We believe it is a very fair offer,'' the executive said. "But we haven't heard anything back yet.''
That report lines up with a tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman earlier today, who said that Sabathia is planning on opting out of his contract prior to Monday night. It's been well publicized that Sabathia is likely to opt out of the remaining four years of his contract in search of a bigger, potentially record-setting deal. As Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out in examining the Yankees' offseason, their success hinges on the ability to construct a strong rotation, and Sabathia is the key to that process.
To track Sabathia's progress, or that of any other free agent, check out MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker.
Quick Hits: White Sox, Indians, Sabathia, Sizemore
A grab-bag of links on the first Sunday of what should be a fun offseason….
- Don't expect the White Sox to pick up any big-ticket players on the free agent market, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The club is unlikely to bring Juan Pierre back in 2012 and if they look to replace him with a traditional leadoff type, Merkin expects the team to do so via trade.
- It would be a surprise if the Indians re-signed Chad Durbin as the club has several promising young relievers who could take his spot, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.
- The Yankees will make a contract offer to C.C. Sabathia this weekend, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. However, most people expect the lefty to opt out of his current deal and "look around."
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff predicts destinations and contract details for his top 30 free agents, in slideshow form.
- The Rangers, Nationals, and Brewers top Buster Olney's list of potential landing spots for Grady Sizemore (ESPN insider link).
- Hisashi Iwakuma confirmed that he will attempt to sign with an MLB team again this winter, according to NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (via Sponichi). Iwakuma was unable to work out a deal with the Athletics last offseason.
- New Angels GM Jerry Dipoto will have complete decision-making power, says Angels owner Arte Moreno. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has details and quotes.
- The Padres will hire Phil Plantier as their new hitting coach, tweets FOX's Ken Rosenthal.
Yankees Exercise Cano’s, Swisher’s 2012 Options
The Yankees have exercised their 2012 club options on second baseman Robinson Cano and outfielder Nick Swisher, the team announced. Cano's option is for $14MM and Swisher's is for $10.25MM.
Cano, who turned 29 a week ago, has established himself as an elite offensive second baseman, slugging no fewer than 25 homers in each of the past three seasons to go along with his .308/.347/.496 career line. Fangraphs' UZR metric has rated Cano slightly below-average defensively in recent seasons, but his $14MM 2012 salary will still be a bargain relative to his overall production, a fact that may (or may not) have inspired his agent, Scott Boras, to angle for a new contract recently.
Swisher, 31 next month, shrugged off a sluggish start this season to hit 23 homers and post a .260/.374/.449 line, in keeping with his .254/.360/.466 career figures. He didn't fare well during the Yankees' postseason run, leading some to wonder whether the Yankees would decline his option and perhaps pursue someone like Carlos Beltran, but that was quashed yesterday.
The Yankees hold another club option on Cano for 2013 at $15MM, while Swisher is entering the final year of a five-year deal he signed with the Athletics back in May 2007.
Yankees Rumors: Sabathia, Posada, Free Agents
One year ago this weekend, the Yankees re-signed manager Joe Girardi to a three-year contract. GM Brian Cashman got a new three-year deal of his own this week, and now the team will move forward with its offseason plans. Here's the latest from the Bronx…
- Although Cashman will meet with CC Sabathia's agent this weekend, George A. King III and Joel Sherman of The New York Post report that the team is not overly optimistic about reaching an agreement about a new contract before their ace can opt out of the final four years and $92MM of his deal on Monday night.
- "You hope he thinks long and hard about coming back and why he likes it here so much," said Girardi when asked by reporters (including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch) about the future of Jorge Posada. Earlier this month, more than 10,000 MLBTR readers said they expect Posada to retire.
- Because so many big name free agents play positions that are already occupied on the roster, King says it's possible the Yankees will stay relatively quiet during free agency. They don't figure to chase Carlos Beltran or Michael Cuddyer because they will command multi-year contracts.
- For more about what could in store for the Yankees this offseason, check out Ben Nicholson-Smith's Offseason Outlook. Tim Dierkes broke down the team's six arbitration cases in his Arbitration Eligibles series.
Cashman, Sabathia’s Agent To Meet This Weekend
7:21pm: Sherman posted a correction (on Twitter); the commissioner's office memo does not apply to Sabathia, he only has until midnight ET on Monday to exercise his opt-out clause.
The league clarified that players can file for free agency at 12:01am ET Sunday morning (Saturday night) and talk to new teams at 12:01am ET Thursday morning (Wednesday night). All option decisions are due by 11:59pm ET on Monday night (Twitter links).
5:44pm: The Yankees took care of one important piece of business by agreeing to a new three-year contract with GM Brian Cashman recently, and now they're moving on to bigger and better things. ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand reports that Cashman will meet with CC Sabathia's agent this weekend in an attempt to complete a new contract extension before the ace left-hander can opt-out of his contract and become a free agent.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (via Twitter) the commissioner's office sent out a memo informing teams that the offseason officially begins at midnight ET on Sunday, so Sabathia has until midnight ET on Wednesday to exercise his opt-out clause. Yesterday we heard that the team was "close to completing" a new contract offer for Sabathia, an offer Cashman figures to present this weekend.
Sherman notes (via Twitter) that he expects the offer to be in the five-year and $120MM range, similar to what Cliff Lee got from the Phillies last offseason. The team is concerned about bidding against itself however, simply because there aren't many other clubs capable of putting together an offer of that magnitude. Earlier this month, nearly 1,500 MLBTR readers said they expect Sabathia's new contract to be in the $121-130MM range.