New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was placed on the disabled list after he left in the third inning of an Aug. 23 game against the Cleveland Indians because of a knee injury that will threaten his status for the remainder of the team’s campaign.
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Sabathia May Not Return in 2015 After Knee Injury
Monday, Aug. 24
“Is it possible he won’t pitch the rest of the year?” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, via Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “It’s possible.”
However, Sabathia will be seeking a second opinion on his knee tomorrow in New York City, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Sabathia, 35, left the game with right knee pain after giving up two runs in 2.2 innings, per Yankees PR (h/t YES Network), who added the pitcher would get an MRI to evaluate the severity of the ailment. Rookie reliever Nick Rumbelow, who before Aug. 23 had not given up a run in his last seven appearances, came in for relief.
In his seventh season as a Yankee, Sabathia has been nowhere near his former All-Star self. The high-paid lefty has a 5.27 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a 4-9 record. Those struggles have made Sabathia the object of derision among fans, perhaps culminating last week when he got into a shouting match with hecklers in Toronto.
“It was a bad decision on my part,” Sabathia said, per Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. “I probably should’ve kept quiet and got in a cab. I’m just glad I ended up getting in the cab before everything went down. I didn’t know that big fight happened afterward. It was just a bad decision on my part.”
Given his performance level, the Yankees aren’t likely to miss Sabathia much if he is out for an extended period. Only a week remains before September call-ups, which will give New York plenty of options to fill his spot in the rotation.
Still, it’s another dispiriting blow in a season full of them for the former Yankees ace.
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