CARLSBAD, Calif. _ One starter down and, to use a word of GM Brian Cashman's, still "multiples" to go.
Late Tuesday afternoon the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth about $8 million to bring back left-hander CC Sabathia, a source confirmed. The deal becoming official is contingent on a physical.
The re-signing of the 39-year-old Sabathia, who went 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts last season, does not mean Cashman is done looking for starting pitching reinforcements. Far from it.
"Obviously we'd love to bring back CC back if we can," Cashman said earlier in the afternoon before news of an agreement with Sabathia broke. "And then add multiples past that."
Bringing back Sabathia gives the Yankees three for-sure members of their 2019 rotation, with the veteran joining Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka.
Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin is a top target of the Yankees on the free agent market and Cashman will also touch base with clubs who are looking to move starters. That means conversations with the Indians, who have indicated they are willing to listen to offers on Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, and also the Mariners, who could move left-hander James Paxton.
"We're going to engage every free agent in the marketplace and assess their price tags and how they may fit for us and we'll see," Cashman said.
If having the prospects it might take to land a pitcher of the caliber of the above-mentioned, Cashman said: "I think we have a lot of great talent that teams would have an interest in just generally. Whether we match up as good as others with team's assets is what we're here to find out. But we're just starting the process of our stare-down contest with everybody."
There was, of course, no stare-down with Sabathia and his representatives. The pitcher, while saying he was open to playing elsewhere next season, made clear his preference to stay with the Yankees. The feeling was mutual as Sabathia, besides still showing the ability to be productive, is a clubhouse leader that younger pitchers and position players alike gravitate toward.
Sabathia got off to a terrific start last season _ he was 6-3 with a 3.02 ERA after beating the Braves July 4 _ but faded a bit down the stretch, going 3-4 with a 4.52 ERA over his last 13 starts. He took the loss in the deciding fourth game of the ALDS against the Red Sox when he allowed three runs over three innings of the 4-3 loss.
As the Yankees prepared to welcome one of their pitchers back, Cashman, for the third time this offseason, made clear his intent to trade Sonny Gray. The right-hander, though successful in Oakland, never got things going with the Yankees since being acquired at the 2017 trade deadline, and Cashman said again on Tuesday it was best for the club and the player to move on.
"He's got a good makeup, I just don't think this is the right spot for him," Cashman said. "That's nothing against Sonny Gray, it's just you live and learn ... it's been a year and a half, I'm not going to be Sisyphus pushing the rock up a hill and having it roll back on top of me. It's not working. I'm not going to be willing to continue to walk through the fire and expect it to be a different result. So I will reallocate his abilities to some other club for a yet-to-be determined price tag, and he will be good again. Trust me. I think he's a heck of a pitcher. He's a very successful major leaguer, and it's just going to happen somewhere else."
