CC Sabathia is in the New York Yankees starting rotation for now.
The New York Yankees will begin their 2016 season with pitcher CC Sabathia in the starting rotation. Sabathia has fallen quite far in the past two years, going from being the Yankees ace to being one of the worst starting pitchers. After being impressed with Sabathia, the Yankees are keeping Sabathia in their starting rotation – for now. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made it clear that Sabathia’s spot is far from guaranteed.
"“I can’t say how long a leash [Sabathia] is on, but I think any fifth starter in the game is on a shorter leash,” Cashman said, via ESPN. “Hopefully, that was the right call, and hopefully he’ll do well and pitch well for us.”“The decision that sometimes you make in April is not necessarily what happens in May,” added manager Joe Girardi."
Sabathia will have to impress to stay in the rotation because the Yankees have Ivan Nova in the bullpen. Nova has shown in the past that he can be a solid starting pitcher. The Yankees are hoping that his final four starts last season, during which Sabathia had a 2.17 ERA, are a sign of things to come.
New York was very quiet this offseason, something the Bronx Bombers and their fans are not used to. Perhaps the team has some faith in Sabathia to bounce back, but recent returns have to be a major concern. The pitching staff is a serious question mark behind Masahiro Tanaka, with only Michael Pineda projecting to be anything resembling more than average.
For more MLB news, be sure to check out our MLB hub page.