C.C. Sabathia

C.C. Sabathia’s longstanding right knee problems reared their head again Friday, when the southpaw exited after just three innings in a loss to the Athletics. The Yankees announced that Sabathia departed with knee discomfort, and the 39-year-old was “dejected” afterward, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Sabathia still hopes to pitch again this season, though, and will have his knee drained and potentially undergo a cortisone shot in hopes of making a quick recovery, Feinsand reports.

There is plenty at stake for Sabathia as the season winds down. The possible Hall of Famer’s set to retire at the end of the campaign, for one, so he obviously doesn’t want his illustrious career to conclude with an injury. Beyond that, Sabathia’s aiming to help pitch the Yankees to a World Series title, which would be their second since they inked him to a mega-deal as a free agent heading into the 2009 season.

As great as Sabathia has been during his Yankees tenure, it no longer looks as if the longtime workhorse has much left in the tank. Sabathia’s knee, on which he has undergone surgery multiple times, has already forced him to the IL on three occasions this year. When he has taken the mound, Sabathia has had difficulty going deep into games, having amassed 100 1/3 innings over 20 starts. Sabathia has also had uncharacteristic trouble preventing runs. He owns a below-average 4.93 ERA/5.96 FIP – both of which represent massive steps backward relative to his career and the numbers he put up just a year ago (3.65/4.16).

Of course, Sabathia’s hardly the lone member of New York’s starting staff who has come up shy of expectations in 2019. With the exception of Domingo German, the same also applies to every other regular starter the Yankees have run out (Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ). Because of the vulnerability of the Yankees’ rotation, there’s skepticism regarding their chances of hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy in a couple months and sending Sabathia out on a high note.

As expected, the Yankees announced they have activated left-hander CC Sabathia from the 10-day injured list. He’ll start today’s series finale against Cleveland after missing around three weeks with right knee inflammation.

It hasn’t been a banner final season for the 39 year-old, who has been especially plagued by the league’s home run surge. Sabathia’s 2.39 HR/9 is by far the worst mark of his career. While a career-worst 38% ground ball rate surely plays some part in that, an unsustainably high 21.1% HR/FB rate has contributed to that whiplash. Sabathia’s strikeouts (21.1%) and walks (7.7%) in 2019 are identical to those he put up in 2018, when he gave New York a 3.65 ERA over 153 innings.

Sabathia’s a back-end starter at this point, clearly, but it’d still be nice for the Yankees to get some volume from him down the stretch. The Bombers have ridden a power lineup and stellar bullpen to a league-best 83-42 record despite a mediocre rotation.

The Yankees have placed left-hander C.C. Sabathia on the 10-day injured list and recalled utilityman Tyler Wade from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. Sabathia is dealing with right knee inflammation.

This continues a brutal week for New York’s pitching staff, which has taken beatings at the hands of the Twins and Red Sox over the past several days. Archrival Boston has been especially hard on the Yankees, having outscored them 38-13 in the first three games of the teams’ series. The Red Sox pounded Sabathia on Saturday and will try to sweep the series Sunday.

The Yankees still boast the AL’s top record (66-38) and an eight-game lead over the Red Sox in their division. Still, pitching’s a significant concern for the Yankees leading up to the July 31 deadline, and Sabathia’s health and performance issues could further put the onus on general manager Brian Cashman to bring in outside help.

This is the second IL placement this year because of right knee inflammation for Sabathia, who has undergone multiple knee surgeries in his career. When Sabathia has taken the mound this season, the potential Hall of Famer has looked his age (39). Now in the last season of his career, Sabathia has pitched to a 4.78 ERA – nearly a full run higher than he combined for from 2016-18 – with a 5.93 FIP in 90 1/3 innings.

CC Sabathia has already made clear that the 2019 campaign will be his final season as a Major Leaguer, but the likely Hall of Famer isn’t ready to step away from baseball entirely. In chatting with reporters today (Twitter links via Newsday’s Erik Boland and NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty), Sabathia revealed that he hopes to land a front office position with the Yankees after his playing days are complete.

“I definitely want to be around the Yankees for years to come,” said Sabathia. Kuty notes that Sabathia has been in general manager Brian Cashman’s ear about a potential special assistant role.

Sabathia would hardly be the only retired big leaguer to take such a position in a team’s front office. Within the past year and a half, the Yankees themselves have hired Carlos Beltran (link) and Andy Pettitte (link) as special advisors to the baseball operations department, for instance. Such roles are often fairly nebulous — at least so far as in duties that are specified to the public — and they typically aren’t full-time commitments. But it’s common for former players in such roles to serve as an instructor for the team and its minor leaguers during Spring Training, visit minor league affiliates throughout the season and in some instances weigh in on roster and/or player development matters.

The 38-year-old Sabathia’s final season has been a solid effort — one that has seen the big lefty cross some notable milestones along the way. In addition to tossing 76 2/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, Sabathia has collected his 250th Major League victory, recorded his 3,000th career strikeout and surpassed the 3500-inning mark at the MLB level.

Prior to tonight’s game against the Red Sox, the Yankees have reinstated veteran left-hander CC Sabathia from the 10-day injured list, according to an official team release. Sabathia is in line to start Sunday’s game for the Bombers.

Sabathia landed on the injured list on May 23 thanks to a bout with right knee inflammation. Thankfully for the Yankees, the injury didn’t keep him out of action for an extended period of time and his stay of the IL was a short one.

The big southpaw’s return to action certainly won’t be a walk in the park, though, as he draws a tough Red Sox lineup in primetime, though it’s a lineup that has mustered just four runs in the first two games of this weekend set in the Bronx.

Amidst an injury-riddled season for the Yankees, Sabathia has helped to counterbalance injuries to Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, and briefly James Paxton. Of course, Sabathia has not been spectacular, but the 38-year-old has offered stability to a team that has faced considerable adversity.

In eight starts, Sabathia has provided 41 1/3 innings of solid ball, working to a 3.48 ERA, though troubles with the home run ball (allowing 2.4 homers per nine innings pitched) are driving a less promising 6.27 FIP. Regardless, with Severino, Montgomery, and Jonathan Loaisiga on the shelf, the team will gladly welcome back the experienced Sabathia.

May 23: The Yankees announced this morning that Sabathia has indeed been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right knee inflammation.

May 22: CC Sabathia has been dealing with discomfort in his right knee, and the veteran southpaw told reporters that he expects that he’ll need an injured list stint to get back on track, (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).  Rather than travel with the Yankees to begin their series in Kansas City on Friday, Sabathia will instead likely head to New York for treatment and an injection in his bothersome knee.

Sabathia has undergone multiple knee surgeries throughout his career, and this latest issue seems relatively minor, more akin to one of several routine maintenance-type procedures Sabathia has undergone over the years.  More serious persistent knee troubles threatened to prematurely Sabathia’s career in the middle of the decade, though since that time, the left-handed has enjoyed a career revival as an anchor at the back end of the Yankees’ rotation, posting a 3.70 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.43 K/BB rate over 517 2/3 innings since the start of the 2016 season.

The veteran southpaw has already announced that 2019 will the last season of what could very well end up as a Hall Of Fame career, and he is hoping to go out with another World Series ring for a Yankees team that currently leads the AL East.  The Yankees achieved this success despite a staggering number of injuries, so it doesn’t seem the club should have much trouble managing what should be a relatively brief IL stay for Sabathia.  James Paxton may be back in the rotation before May is over, and New York could also deploy openers or bullpen games to fill any other holes in the starting five.