CC Sabathia’s season is likely over, Yankee manager Joe Girardi admitted prior to the Yankees’ 6-5 win over the Twins in Minneapolis Friday afternoon.
Sabathia, who has been on the disabled list since mid-May with degenerative changes in the cartilage in his right knee, is facing possible microfacture surgery, raising concerns that his current knee problems could be career-threatening. Even if Sabathia’s doctors don’t recommend that course of action, however, his 2014 season is likely over. “I think that’s fair to say,”
Sabathia, who turns 34 later this month, once seemed to have a legitimate chance of reaching 300 wins in his career, but now we’re forced to wonder if he’ll ever get past his current 208. The Yankees, meanwhile, are faced with the possibility that Sabathia’s five-year, $122 million contract, negotiated after he opted out of his previous deal after the 2011 season, could prove to be an even worse investment than the $275 million over 10 years they committed to Alex Rodriguez after Rodriguez opted out after the 2007 season. With Sabathia’s 2014 season all but officially over, he has gone 17-17 with a 4.87 ERA (82 ERA+) in the first two years of that deal, a replacement-level performance per Baseball-Reference’s WAR. The Yankees owe Sabathia a guaranteed $48 million over the next two years, and the only way to prevent his $25 million option for 2017 from vesting is for Sabathia to suffer an injury to his pitching shoulder, which won’t happen if he can’t pitch due to a knee injury.
