Yankees re-sign CC Sabathia: Fantasy Fallout

The Yankees have brought backed CC Sabathia on a one-year deal. What is the fantasy fallout of the news?

The Yankees continued to be busy this offseason by resigning CC Sabathia to a one-year deal. Sabathia is an invaluable clubhouse leader and one of the longest-tenured Yankees left in the Bronx, yet was also one of the more productive members of their pitching staff as well.

What is the fantasy fallout of the deal?

CC Sabathia will enter 2018 as a 16-year veteran, and in his tenth year as a Yankee. It seems like it was just yesterday where fantasy owners saw Sabathia single-handily carry the Brewers into the playoffs in 2008. When all is said and done, Sabathia will amass what will be a Hall of Fame case and resume.

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Now in terms of fantasy value in 2018, he will hold SP4 or SP5 value. It is well documented that CC does not possess the stuff that he once did. Father time is undefeated, but Sabathia chose to finally adjust and adapt.

For the first time in his career, he threw his fastball less than 25% of the time, while upping his slider and cutter usage to over 30%. These adjustments have paid off over the last two seasons, as he has posted no higher than a 3.91 ERA over 57 starts.

Digging deeper into his peripherals, Sabathia was able to post 22% LD, 50% GB, 28% FB and 24% Soft contact rates. His GB rate has sat at 50% over the last seasons, and are the highest rates of his career. He also dropped his FB rate down 5% from last season, and his 24% Soft contact matched what he was able to post last season.

The adjustments in his arsenal and the tangible results that have followed, solidify that Sabathia can once again be trusted as a fantasy asset. While the K/9 has dropped nearly a strikeout per game since his prime, he is still notching seven strikeouts per nine innings.

Former manager, Joe Girardi, was quick to pull Sabathia in games if he even looked for a second that he was losing his stuff. With the best bullpen in baseball again in 2018, Aaron Boone will more than likely have a quick hook as well.

But, Sabathia has proven that he can fight through losing his premier stuff and based off of his results, the Yankees should be willing to allow him to fight deeper into ball games. New Work looks to be one of the better teams in the AL next season, so the chance at Wins and quality starts are there.

Next: Red Sox resgin Mitch Moreland: Fantasy Fallout

He lacks the ace upside that fantasy owners once knew they were selecting. Yet, he has adapted well as he has aged and the numbers do not lie. He is still worth a late-round flier for those owners looking for rotation stability.