With a little under a month to go before the July 31st trade-deadline, it may be time for New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to start frantically calling around the league. Actually, with the news of CC Sabathia likely being out for the season, “frantically” might be an understatement.
Sabathia was on a rehab stint in Tampa when yesterday he woke up with discomfort and fluid in his injured knee and was immediately shut down. This was the same knee that shelved him on the disabled-list to begin with. An injury that Cashman has called a "degenerative condition" in his right knee, according to CBSSports.com. Twice previously Sabathia has had surgery on the knee to repair a torn-meniscus (2006 and 2010).
Now, with no time-table for his return, Sabathia will make the painful trip to see world-renowned Dr. James Andrews next Monday. When an athlete visits Andrews, it means his career is in a “state of flux” at the moment.
When asked if Sabathia was done for the season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said “I think that’s probably fair to say,” according to Yankees.IHBlogs.com.
What hurts more than losing the stability of Sabathia is that he was the lone lefty-starter out of the rotation. Aside from the struggling Vidal Nuno, it leaves all right-handed pitchers at the moment.
In eight starts this season, Sabathia went 3-4 with a hefty 5.28 ERA. If 2013 was the beginning of the end for Sabathia, then 2014 has escalated that momentum.
The amount of innings Sabathia has pitched in his career (2821.1), it's amazing he's been so durable through these years. Brian Cashman is now up to the plate to address some big holes on this 25-man roster.