Starting Pitcher: Sabathia rejects Yankees, etc.
Andrew Baggerly of the Mercury News believes that CC Sabathia has rejected the Yankees six-year offer, though he admits to this being an unconfirmed report.
According to Baggerly, while the Brewers are considered the front runners, “the Giants had discussions with Sabathia’s camp last night, and they expect to have face-to-face meetings with the left-hander in San Francisco after the winter meetings.”
Meanwhile, in a post to the Los Angeles Times, Tony Jackson describes the Giants as ‘supremely confident that they are going to sign Sabathia.’
…the buzz in baseball for quite some time now has been that sabathia was eyeing the Dodgers or Giants the entire time…it appears he may get his wish…
At the same time, suddenly, the Yankees are being more aggressive in their pursuit of Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett, reports Joel Sherman on his blog for the New York Post.
Update, 5:40 PM:
According to ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, the Yankees deny reports that Sabathia rejected their offer.
Speaking of starting pitchers…
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes ‘the Phillies and Yankees are two most prominent contenders for star free-agent pitcher Derek Lowe, who seeks at least a five-year deal for about $80 million.’
In a report for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal says he would not be surprised to see Burnett get a five-year, $100 million deal from the Yankees.
According to Peter Gammons on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, the Braves are still the front runners to sign Burnett, and could eventually guarantee him the fifth year.
Lastly, some reports suggest the Cubs are close to trading for Jake Peavy, while others suggest they are not – for details, check out MLB Trade Rumors.
