Sabathia: I've talked to Cole about being 'West Coast guy' with Yankees
CC Sabathia is done on the mound, but he's apparently still pitching for the New York Yankees in free agency.
On the most recent edition of his "R2C2 is Uninterrupted" podcast, the retired southpaw said he's already spoken with Gerrit Cole, the top pitcher available this winter, about life in the Bronx.
Host Ryan Ruocco read a listener's question to Sabathia asking if he'd be willing to take part in the Yankees' recruiting pitch to Cole.
"Me and Gerrit Cole have spoken at length many times about me pitching as a Yankee as a West Coast guy," Sabathia responded.
"We have (talked)," Sabathia added, laughing. "It's already happened."
Sabathia is from the Bay Area, while Cole hails from Newport Beach, California and starred in college for UCLA.
It's unclear when these conversations between the two may have occurred. Sabathia's Yankees faced Cole's Houston Astros in the ALCS, with Houston prevailing in six games.
Sabathia drew further parallels between himself and Cole by hearkening back to his own free agency after the 2008 season when the overwhelming assumption was he'd only sign with a California team, and the now 39-year-old didn't want to move to New York. Instead, he stunned the baseball world by taking a $161-million deal from the Yankees, and the six-time All-Star went on to finish his career in pinstripes.
"This is crazy, you know how this is like, shaping out, like the same ... offseason I had (in 2008)," Sabathia said of Cole's saga. "Everybody here going crazy, like, blah blah blah, he don't wanna come here, he don't wanna come here. You offer that motherf----- enough money, he gonna wanna come here. I'm speaking from experience."
Similar reports have surfaced early in Cole's free agency regarding a return to the west. Astros outfielder Josh Reddick even boldly predicted the ace will depart for a team located "west of Nevada." But the right-hander refuted that notion after the World Series.
In addition to the Yankees, Cole is expected to generate plenty of interest from California-based teams, including the Los Angeles Angels and potentially the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. Astros owner Jim Crane said this week his team will make a run at re-signing the 29-year-old.