Report: Yankees Will Try to Sign CC Sabathia to New Deal Before He Opts Out, Close to Finalizing Offer

C.J. Wilson is thought by many to be the best pitcher on this year's free-agent market. That's under the assumption, though, that CC Sabathia doesn't opt out of his current deal with the Yankees and become a free agent.

The Yankees are unsurprisingly trying to make sure it doesn't get that far.

The New York Post (by way of MLBTradeRumors) reports that the Yankees will try to sign Sabathia to a new deal before he is even able to opt out. 

Sabathia still has four years and $92 million left on his current contract with the Yanks, but he has a clause that would allow him to opt out within three days of the World Series' conclusion.

The Yankees do have exclusive negotiating rights with Sabathia until he opts should he decide to do so.

On Wednesday night, The New York Times reported that the Yankees are indeed close to finalizing an initial offer for Sabathia. The details weren't disclosed in the Post report, but that offer cannot be cheap.

If the Yankees plan on throwing enough money at Sabathia, they will almost undoubtedly add years to the four that he has left right now. It's also possible that the big left-hander sees some sort of raise, though he's set to make $23 million per season in the four remaining years.