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Yankees' CC Sabathia Placed On DL, Might Be Done For Season

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia exited in the third inning Sunday with right knee pain and was placed on the disabled list on Monday.

The 35-year-old might not pitch again in 2015.

Sabathia struck out Cleveland's Yan Gomes with a 91 mph fastball for the second out of the third. After the pitch, Sabathia stepped off the mound, visibly unhappy, and was visited by athletic trainer Steve Donohue and manager Joe Girardi, then left the game.

"I felt a little bit of pain warming up in the bullpen and when I was in the game," Sabathia said. "I just couldn't finish my pitches like I wanted to."

"It's been a watch for us all along," Girardi said. "I actually thought it was his side the way he leaned, but he said it was his knee."

After coming out of the game, Sabathia underwent an MRI and visited with team physician, Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

"I'm guessing it's a DL off the bat because he left the field without throwing another pitch," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said after the game. "It seems to imply that it's something serious."

Sabathia (4-9, 5.27 ERA) said he was dealing with "some kind of a sharp pain."

"Just want to see how we can fix it. What can I do? What's the next step?" he said. "I know I can pitch at this level, at a high level. It's just a matter of getting out there and being healthy enough to do it."

New York is already without Bryan Mitchell (concussion and nasal fracture) and Michael Pineda (right flexor forearm muscle strain). Ivan Nova is in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and Masahiro Tanaka missed time earlier in the year with a right forearm strain and right wrist tendinitis.

Sabathia was limited to only eight starts in 2014, undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in July.

"CC is tough," Cashman said. "He's been pitching through a lot of stuff over the last numbers of years, so I'm just assuming we're looking at a disabled list instead of having him for another start."

Mitchell is scheduled to throw a simulated game early either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pineda is expected to be activated from the disabled list and start on Wednesday. With Pineda available, the Yankees were planning on going with a six-man rotation in the short-term, but could now be forced to alter those plans.

"When you have six guys that are capable of doing it, there's some benefit to it," Cashman said. "But if we don't have that, we don't have that and we'll go back to five. Whatever we need is right here for us."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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