They’re just blowing smoke, playing the game. See, the Angels’ real target is Mark Teixeira — he’s the one that really beefed up their team and rounded out their lineup. Adding Sabathia would just make the Angels pitching heavy but still leave their lineup vulnerable. Sure, he’s a nice addition for any club, but not a legitimate target for the Angels. So why all the rumors and reports floating out there? The Angels and Tony Reagins want people to think they’re interested in Sabathia because it helps them. Let’s go over the process here:
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1. Boras wants monster deal (10 years) for Teixeira, needs lots of bidders
2. Angels willing to offer Tex big deal, but not 10 years
3. Boras/Teixeira waiting for better offers
4. Angels drop rumors they want Sabathia to try and make Yankees overspend
5. Yankees panic, bump up offer to Sabathia, leaving less money to offer other free agents
6. Market for Teixeira comes back to earth, he now decides between 7 year $150 million offers from Angels, Yanks, Red Sox and maybe another team
See, the whole thing is part of a plan by the Angels to help themselves out. Everyone’s just waiting around for a player to sign before everything else gets decided. And don’t forget, the Angels still have to extend John Lackey whose contract is up after this season. Expect them to pour around $90 million over five years into Lackey, just like the Cubs did with Zambrano. How could they afford to extend Lackey AND sign Sabathia without addressing their offense? They can’t, which is why they’re not signing CC.
