The New York Post is reporting that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has reeled in free agent pitcher CC Sabathia (right) with the six-year, $140 million offer the Yankees made weeks ago, which would be both good news and bad news for the Orioles.
The bad news, of course, is that the Yankees just got a lot better, which will make the upper reaches of the American League East that much harder to crack for the rebuilding Orioles over the next few years.
The good news is that the free-agent logjam might finally have been broken. Many teams and players had been waiting for the big dominoes to start falling before proceeding with their offseason improvements. Now, the spotlight will be on Mark Teixeira, who is being courted by the Red Sox, Angels, Nationals and Orioles and hopes to make a decision by Christmas.
In the meantime, look for an increase in activity among the next tier of free-agent starting pitchers. A.J. Burnett is believed to be close to settling on a new team, though almost certainly not the Orioles. It's not out of the question that he also lands in the Bronx.
Associated Press photo