Getty CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees is set to return against the Chicago White Sox.
Shortly before their game on Wednesday afternoon, Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone announced that veteran pitcher CC Sabathia was ‘on track’ to return from his injury/suspension combination during the Yankees next homestand.
After their final game at home against the Detroit Tigers tonight, the Yankees face the Baltimore Orioles and then the Houston Astros on the road before coming back home on April 12th for a series against the Chicago White Sox.
The Yankees have struggled to start the 2019 season, in large part due to the fact that half their lineup is on the Injury List. Sitting at just 2-3 with two losses to the lowly Baltimore Orioles in the first series of their season.
CC Sabathia Injury Status: Aaron Boone Updates Yankees Pitcher’s Return
With injuries plaguing the Yankees and a league-leading 10 players on the shelf, the Yankees are in dire need of help across the board. With the pitching staff ravaged by the loss of ace Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, Sabathia’s return becomes all that more important to help bolster the staff.
Considering the Yankee lineup is now missing star offensive players Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Andujar, and Didi Gregorius, they need all the help that they can get in terms of quality outings from the staff. Sabathia is the perfect fit in his old age for the way this Yankees team is built. With a loaded bullpen, the Yankees mostly need five to six innings of two or three run baseball to keep them competitive before handing things over to the bullpen – exactly what CC excels at these days.
Even in the Yankees lineup’s depleted state (they still have Aaron Judge), they should be able to muster across 2-3 runs on most nights and as a result, should be able to grind out some wins with Sabathia giving them a chance to stay in ballgames.
Yankees’ CC Sabathia Suspension & Injury
After a bean-ball fest that led to a Sabathia suspension (which he was forced to serve at the start of this season) in the last game of the 2018 season against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sabathia faced a tough offseason in terms of his health. After undergoing a heart procedure in December, CC was forced to deal with a degenerative knee condition in his knee.
While he announced this season would be his last and he is far from the former Cy Young Ace he once was, Sabathia is a crafty veteran stopper and crucial to the Yankees clubhouse. His presence alone could go a long ways towards helping the Yankees tread water while they await the return of their ace and crucial middle of the order bats.