New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia underwent successful heart surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery.

Dom Renna

The New York Yankees re-signed CC Sabathia quickly into the offseason and since then, Sabathia has undergone heart surgery according to Ken Rosenthal ofThe Athletic.

According to Rosenthal, Sabathia had begun to experience acid reflux and heartburn along with sweating quicker than usual during his workouts. After undergoing some tests, Sabathia was told that he had a blockage in one of his arteries.

Sabathia would undergo surgery where doctors inserted a stent to open the artery where the blockage was. Rosenthal notes that if Sabathia chose to ignore the pain, he could have been at risk of having a heart attack

Sabathia and the Yankees declined to comment to Rosenthal, but Sabathia’s agent said everything went as expected. CC is expected to make a full recovery along with reporting to Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13.

From a baseball standpoint, the big lefty is expected to play a huge role on the Yankees rotation in 2019. He finished 2018 with a 9-7 record throwing 153 innings with a 3.65 ERA, his lowest since 2012. He plays a big role in the clubhouse as a leader and his presence is greatly missed when he’s on the disabled list.

Now from a health perspective, you hope everything is taken care of and this is just a one-time scare for CC and his family. Any procedure involving the heart is very serious and life-threatening and thankfully Sabathia’s prognosis is a good one.


UPDATE: Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman released a statement regarding Sabathia’s surgery.

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Dominick is a graduate of Canisius College. He has covered the Rangers for the last seven seasons and the Yankees for the last four.