CC Sabathia could have taken his talents elsewhere, but ultimately, the veteran lefty decided that there’s no place like home—in the Bronx.
With trade rumors connecting the New York Yankees to a bevy of starting pitchers flying around, the Bronx Bombers made a sensible move and decided to stick with a pitcher they know well—Carsten Charles Sabathia.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand was the first to break the news of the 37-year-old’s new one-year, $10 million deal.
BREAKING: According to a source, the Yankees have agreed to a one-year deal with CC Sabathia worth $10 million. The deal is pending a physical.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 16, 2017
Sabathia turned in a solid 2017 for the Yanks, going 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 148.2 innings of work. He was especially stellar down the stretch, however. Over his last eight regular season starts, CC went 5-0 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, holding opposing batters to a .698 OPS in the process.
While bringing him back would seem to make the Yankees rotation complete—he’ll bring up the rear after Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery—it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Yankees won’t continue to pursue another starting pitcher.
Sabathia, who will celebrate his 37th birthday in mid-July, is no longer the workhorse he once was. The Yankees can—and should—expect him to spend time on the disabled list in 2018 due to his balky knee, which will continue to be an issue from time-to-time until he retires.
Realistic expectations for Sabathia, at this point in his career, should be somewhere in the vicinity of 22 starts and 150 innings of work. Sure, a nearly ready prospect like Chance Adams could be called upon to pick up some of that slack, but the Yanks may opt for a more established option.
But for now, the Yankees and new manager Aaron Boone (that still sounds weird, doesn’t it?) can rest easy knowing that one of the team’s clubhouse leaders is back in the mix for another year.
