So, word started circulating Thursday via unnamed sources that the Rangers want CC Sabathia to opt out of his Yankees contract because they hope to 'throw a boatload of money at him.'
↵↵↵I hear they're going to throw a boatload of money at him, said the source, who requested anonymity. But I think he'll stay with the Yankees. He's talked so much about how much he loves New York, and besides, the Yankees can't afford to lose him from that pitching staff.
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I don't really know what kind of contract offer would qualify as moneywhipping someone who is opting out of a contract that owes him four more years at $92 million, nor do I know how much it would actually take to convince that guy to leave NYC for Arlington, but it's most likely way, way more than the Rangers would actually offer.
↵It's a silly rumor on its face, but I think that any truth to it is fairly easily explained. The Rangers want to keep C.J. Wilson and they'd like to get in on Yu Darvish, at least as an alternative. They Yankees figure to be major players for any starting pitcher of that quality, so it should only help the Rangers to force the Steinbrenners to focus a little more of their attention on recruiting CC to stay and to force them to spend another couple million per year and a few more years on Sabathia as they investigate the market.
↵Planting the seed of their desire to pay him more than he's already making could make his decision to opt out and renegotiate an easier one, not that it wasn't already easy from a monetary standpoint.
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