Yankees’ pitcher C.C. Sabathia is already lobbying for friend Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays to consider New York for 2011, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.

“I joke around with him all the time about that — all the time,” Sabathia says, laughing. “I told him I’ve got an extra room in the house, whatever he needs.”

Crawford a free agent after the 2010 season is likely headed out of Tampa Bay since the time is not likely able to afford the outfielder. Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg said at the time that the team’s payroll will be under $60 million next year, so at the time it was hard to believe that the team was going to dedicate over 25% of their payroll to one player.

In late February, the Rays and Crawford tabled their contract extension talks. Crawford is looking for market value, which would be in the $13-16 million per season range. One person familiar with their talks said the sides “never got close” and were “too far apart to ever gain traction.”

Rosenthal says that the Yankees will not be the only team pursuing the free agent outfielder. Other teams that could have Crawford on their list include the Red Sox, Angels, White Sox, Astros, Rangers, Braves, Giants, Dodgers, Mariners, Tigers, Reds and Cubs. (So almost 50% of all MLB teams).

“I can’t wait to see how it’s going to play out,” Crawford says. “It should be exciting, really exciting. I’m just going to try to embrace it all, soak it all in and enjoy the moment.”

Crawford, 28, hit .305 with 15 home runs, 68 RBIs and had 60 stolen bases in 2009 with the Rays. This is Crawford’s final season of a six-year $33.5 million contract. You can see Crawford’s contract history and statistics here.