Cashman: Sabathia To Have Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee, Season Over
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The long shot that was the Yankees getting CC Sabathia back into the rotation at some point this summer is now officially an impossibility.
General manager Brian Cashman announced Friday that the veteran left-hander will have arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome right knee, ending his season.
The announcement came on the same day Cashman said publicly that he has to "reinforce" the Yankees' rotation, which is down 80 percent of its starters from opening day. Sabathia joins Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) as officially out for the season, while Michael Pineda (back) and Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) may return but likely will remain question marks due to the nature of their injuries.
Only Hiroki Kuroda is still standing from the original starting five, with journeyman Brandon McCarthy, David Phelps and rookies Shane Greene and Chase Whitley filling in.
The news on Sabathia, who went 3-4 with a bloated 5.28 ERA in eight starts this season, is actually better than many thought, WFAN's Sweeny Murti reported.
However, if the surgery doesn't correct the problem in Sabathia's knee, more drastic measures could be taken.
Sabathia, who will turn 34 on Monday, has not been the same pitcher since the beginning of the 2013 season, enduring several stints on the disabled list and winning just 17 of 40 starts. He allowed a career-high 112 earned runs and 28 home runs last season.
For his 14-year career, Sabathia is 208-119, with a 3.63 ERA. The Yankees are paying him $23 million this season and owe him $48 million guaranteed over the final two years of his contract.
The Yankees, who were to start the unofficial second half of the season Friday night with the first of three against visiting Cincinnati, are five games out of first place in the AL East and 3 1/2 out of the second wild card.
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