It’s just been announced on Twitter (by Sabathia himself, nonetheless) that the Yankees ace would NOT be opting out of his contract to become a free agent, and would remain a Yankee. No immediate word on whether or not his contract was reworked. Sabathia was scheduled to make $23 million a year for the next four years of his contract (2012-2015).
Sabathia was ranked first on Charlie’s free agent pitcher rankings, which are scheduled to be posted tomorrow. The biggest beneficiaries from Sabathia’s decision are Yu Darvish, the Japanese sensation who is still debating whether or not he wants to pitch in America in 2012, and CJ Wilson of the Rangers, who is now the top starting pitcher on the open market. Even after a poor postseason pushed his possible value down to a lower level, Wilson will probably end up getting more money from a team starved for pitching.
EDIT: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports announced the terms on Twitter. Sabathia gets a one year extension to his deal, and the terms are now five years, $122 million as opposed to four years, $92 million. In 2016, he’ll make $25 million. So essentially, Sabathia got himself an extra $30 million. I don’t think he could have gotten that on the open market. Good move for him, and a necessary one from the Yankees.
