After waiting seemingly forever to mull over the largest contract ever for a pitcher, CC Sabathia has decided that he is willing to play in New York, and that money is more important than the chance to take a few hacks at the plate.

This not only has a huge affect on the Yankees, but it also will have an enormous ripple affect on the rest of the free agent market. Many teams have been focusing on Sabathia, while making it clear that other pitchers, like AJ Burnett, Ben Sheets and Derek Lowe are secondary. Now, those players will move to the forefront and become priority #1 for teams searching for a pitching overhaul.

Sabathia was rumored to be trying to avoid the Bronx, possibly because he didn't want to live in the city, and he reportedly wanted to stay in the National League, since he enjoys hitting. Sabathia is a lifetime .261 hitter, with 3 career HR, and is known as one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball.

As soon as he actually puts his John Hancock on all the paperwork, Sabathia will immediately become the Yankees' #1 starter. He joins a rotation that includes Joba Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang, and a slew of younger players like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves and Chase Wright. The Yankees are rumored to be targeting another free agent hurler as well, and recently met with Ben Sheets, who was Sabathia's teammate in Milwaukee and has the same agent as Derek Jeter.

This deal will probably cause a rash of signings throughout the league. With Sabathia off the market, teams looking to make a big splash will now be forced to act more quickly on players like Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and the pitchers mentioned earlier. The Red Sox, Angels and Giants have seemingly been rumored to be interested in nearly every major free agent out there, and there's little doubt that each of them (and others) will make their big move shortly.

The first huge domino has fallen in this offseason, and the rest are sure to follow. Keep your eyes open, because the next few weeks could get very exciting.