Yanks keep Sabathia with one-year deal
Free agent CC Sabathia agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with the Yankees, according to several reports Saturday.
The deal is contingent on the left-hander passing his physical.
Re-signing the 37-yearold Sabathia, respected and beloved in the Yankees clubhouse, was targeted quickly as an offseason priority.
That was the case even before the Yankees were turned down by Japanese pitcher/outfielder Shohei Ohtani earlier this offseason. Once they were — the 23-year-old Ohtani chose the Angels — bringing Sabathia back into the fold became even more pressing.
And even with the addition of Sabathia, the Yankees will still explore opportunities to add one more starter to a group that, as of now, includes Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery and Sabathia. Prospects Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams are among the young arms who are slated to make a push this spring.
After going 18-26 with a 4.42 ERA in the previous three seasons and battling issues with his right knee, Sabathia turned back the clock this past season. While not entirely recapturing the form that made him an ace much of his career, Sabathia went 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA, his lowest ERA since 2012, when it was 3.38.
Sabathia went 1-1, 2.37 in four postseason outings, including Game 7 of the ALCS against the Astros when he was wild over 3⅓ innings but allowed just one run.
Afterward, Sabathia left no doubt where he wanted to pitch in 2018.
Dodgers: Matt Kemp is returning to the place where he began his major league career, reacquired as part of a five-player trade with Atlanta that creates more financial flexibility for the reigning NL champions.
The Dodgers sent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, oft-injured pitchers Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy, infielder Charlie Culberson and cash to Atlanta for the 33-year-old Kemp.
Gonzalez agreed to waive his no-trade clause after receiving assurance from the Braves that he would be designated for assignment since they are already have Freddie Freeman.
After sitting on the sidelines during the winter meetings, the Dodgers moved quickly to dump nearly $50 million in salary committed to Gonzalez, Kazmir and McCarthy for 2018. Kemp is owed about $43 million over the next two seasons.
Los Angeles was looking to reduce baseball’s highest payroll of $240 million last season. The deal made sense for the Braves, too, since the players they acquired all have expiring contracts.