Brewers GM: Yankees 'overbidding' for Sabathia

The New York Yankees' initial bid for CC Sabathia reportedly is in a different stratosphere than the Brewers' first offer, and Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin said he doesn't really understand the logic behind it.

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According to media reports, the Yankees offered Sabathia approximately $140 million over six years. The Brewers, in contrast, have reportedly offered Sabathia $100 million over five seasons.

"It sounds like they're overbidding," Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "If the speculation is true that we've offered CC $100 million, why would you offer $140 million? Why wouldn't you offer $110 million?"

Are the Brewers willing to compete with the Yankees' reported record offer?

"I don't want to respond to that," Melvin told the Journal Sentinel. "It's up to the player to go where the money is."

CC Sabathia

Starting Pitcher
Milwaukee Brewers

Profile

2008 Season StatsGMWLBBKERA351710592512.70

Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed Friday night at the team's spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., that an offer was made to Sabathia, and that proposals will be forthcoming for pitchers A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.

"[The Yankees] have been pretty adamant about bidding on everybody. That doesn't mean that's what the market is. That's just one team's offer. Until all the bids are on the table, I don't know what the market is," Melvin told the newspaper.

Melvin told the Journal Sentinel that he will check with Sabathia's camp by the middle of this week to see if the Brewers still have a chance to retain their ace, who was acquired at the trading deadline from the Cleveland Indians and helped Milwaukee win the NL wild card.

"I'll ask them where we're at [in the bidding], if we have a chance or should we move on," Melvin told the newspaper. "I need to know. We don't want this to drag on.

"They won't tell me what the other offers are. They'll just say, 'We've got an extra year [from another bidder] or more money.' They'll let you know if the other offers are substantially more or a little more.

"We're not going to negotiate until we know where we stand," Melvin told the newspaper.

The New York Mets' Johan Santana has the highest contract ever given to a pitcher, the six-year, $137.5 million deal he signed after his trade from the Minnesota Twins last offseason.