The Yankees, with money to spend and holes to fill, have done everything but climb the nearest mountain and scream, "We are prioritizing pitching!" But that didn't stop general manager Brian Cashman from meeting with first baseman Mark Teixeira on Thursday in the Washington, D.C. area.
As soon as Sunday, Cashman will meet with CC Sabathia in Las Vegas, site of the winter meetings. Sabathia will arrive in Vegas on Saturday to attend the fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. Cashman, in a telephone interview Friday, confirmed that he saw Teixeira and his agent, Scott Boras, on Thursday.
"I tell all these [agents], 'If your client wants to meet, or if he's in New York and he wants to come see me, I'm all for it,'" Cashman said. "I flew down and met [Teixeira]."
The Yankees would go after Teixeira only if they are convinced they can't sign Sabathia, whose well-known preference is to play on the West Coast and in the National League.
"Everybody's in play," Cashman said. "Anybody on the free-agent market is in play."
The Red Sox and Angels rank as the top suitors for Teixeira, who likely will wind up with an eight-year deal for about $160 million. The Nationals, who play near Teixeira's childhood home, sit as a dark horse.
In meeting with Sabathia, Cashman can get a better feel, face to face, for the lefthander's desire to play in New York . The Yankees offered Sabathia a six-year deal for about $140 million on Nov. 14, and Sabathia has only one other known offer: a five-year deal for about $100 million from Milwaukee.
The Brewers, with whom Sabathia completed the 2008 season, might consider adding a sixth year to their offer, a person familiar with the situation said. But the total value of their offer, factoring in the deferred money, probably would be about $110 million.
While Sabathia's first choice probably would be to play for the Giants, San Francisco couldn't get away with giving Sabathia less than the $126 million it already has committed to Barry Zito. The Giants, given that they're still paying the debt service on their privately financed stadium, AT&T Park, can't commit so much money to two pitchers.
The Angels' strong inclination is to sign Teixeira, and they gave themselves another 2009 option for their starting rotation when they offered arbitration to Jon Garland. The Dodgers simply can't afford a Sabathia offer.
Add up these factors, and one can see why the Yankees remain very confident that they'll sign Sabathia. They're also interested in Derek Lowe, whom Boras represents, but they're very far apart in negotiations with the righthander.
The Yankees like A.J. Burnett but seem convinced that he will sign with Atlanta. The Braves already have offered Burnett a four-year deal worth about $60 million with a vesting option for a fifth year, and it's possible Atlanta could add a guaranteed fifth year.
