Report: Yankees recently reached out to Sabathia

Before Shohei Ohtani dropped the hammer and told the New York Yankees he would not be signing in the Bronx, the team picked up the phone to call a familiar face.

The Yankees reportedly reached out to veteran lefty CC Sabathia, according to FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman.

The big lefty said he'd prefer to return to the Yankees and "finish things off" with the franchise he knows best, but he's ready to move on if he has to now that he's a free agent.

Sabathia, 37, has spent the last nine seasons with the Yankees, posting a 120-73 record with a 3.75 ERA and 1.259 WHIP over 1,657 2/3 innings. He eclipsed 200 innings pitched in each of his first five seasons with the Bronx Bombers, and was a part of the team's last World Series in 2009.

In his first foray into the postseason since 2012, Sabathia pitched well in October, especially in the ALCS. Facing the Houston Astros, he allowed only a single earned run over 9 1/3 innings over two starts against the eventual World Series champs.