It was a legitimate question whether or not CC Sabathia had just pitched his last season in pinstripes with the conclusion of the 2018 campaign. However, it looks like the Yankees will be retaining the big fella for at least one more year.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported Tuesday night that CC and the Yankees are working out the final details of what will be a one-year/$8M contract. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports would later confirm. Although not known yet, it’s assumed this deal will come with incentives similar to the ones he received last season.
Sabathia 1-yr, $8M deal is complete pending physical. #Yankees will hope Sabathia can give another solid 150IP and, at worst, perhaps tag-team a season with Jordan Montgomery who should be able to return from Tommy John surgery around midseason
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 6, 2018
Sabathia, 38, posted another solid season in 2018, pitching to a 3.65 ERA in 153 innings over 29 starts. He’s nothing more than a decent 4th or 5th starter, but he did post the lowest hard-hit rate in the American League this past season which is one of the more promising stats one could look at to determine a pitcher’s effectiveness.
Heading into the 2018 season, it was not known whether or not the left-hander would hang it up after the season’s end, but Sabathia stated a few weeks prior to the postseason that he had intended on pitching in 2019. He’ll likely head into Spring Training as the presumptive 5th starter to a rotation that will continue to receive upgrades throughout the winter.
Just about every offseason projection has the Yankees also resigning J.A. Happ and landing Patrick Corbin, which would form a probable rotation of:
1. Luis Severino RHP
2. Patrick Corbin LHP
3. Masahiro Tanaka RHP
4. J.A. Happ LHP
5. CC Sabathia LHP
But it doesn’t end there. Earlier Tuesday, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweeted that the Yankees have shown interest in Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco of the Indians and were set to meet with their ownership to discuss a possible deal. Meaning it’s borderline safe to say that Brian Cashman wasn’t joking when he said addressing the pitching staff was the club’s top priority.