CC Sabathia is pitching for his Yankees future in Game 4

It’s up to CC Sabathia to extend the Yankees season. His Game 4 start against the Red Sox could also determine his future in pinstripes.

The Yankees disastrous performance in Game 3 against the Red Sox means it’s up to CC Sabathia to earn his team a trip back to Fenway Park. The truth is, Sabathia is pitching for more than just the Yankees’ postseason lives tonight. The way he throws in Game 4 will also determine whether or not he gets the opportunity to pitch one more season in pinstripes.

The hefty veteran makes no secret of his desire to pitch at least one more year. He recently told reporters that he knows he can still “get guys out.” There’s also no question that he’s willing to leave the Yankees. Sabathia also told the media he’s willing to “play anywhere” next season.

That doesn’t mean his preference isn’t to stay with the Yankees, but it is a subtle threat to Brian Cashman and company. If the organization isn’t willing to make him a solid financial offer and assure him of a place in the starting rotation, he’ll find a team who will. This reality leaves the Yankees with a tough decision to make on the veteran southpaw.

If the team was sure he could duplicate this year’s performance they would certainly have him back. He wasn’t completely healthy, but he did manage to grind his way through 153 innings pitched with a solid ERA of 3.65. Sabathia doesn’t have the dominant stuff that carried him early in his career, but he’s got enough guile to be an effective starting pitcher when he’s healthy.

Whether or not he can stay healthy for one more season is a very fair question. He’s always been a heavy guy, but that weight is starting to put more and more pressure on his knees. That fact isn’t lost on Aaron Boone. The Yankees manager says Sabathia has the ability to be an effective pitcher for at least another season “as long as his knee’s healthy.” The injury concerns about Sabathia are what make bringing him back next season a difficult decision.

If the season was over today, the team would likely keep Sabathia on the back-burner to see if superior options emerged. A free agent acquisition like Patrick Corbin combined with the development of a young pitcher like Justus Sheffield, Domingo German or Chance Adams might be enough to squeeze Sabathia out of the rotation.

However, the Yankees season isn’t over. Sabathia has a massive opportunity on Tuesday night to solidify his place in the organization’s plans for 2019. It isn’t really fair that he has so much riding on a single start, but right or wrong, playoff performance is always going to be valued at a premium by the Yankees.

That means if Sabathia goes out and gets shelled, he’s likely going to leave the Yankees via free agency. In particular, if he looks like an old pitcher out there, that’s going to linger in the minds of Cashman and company all winter long. He cannot afford to have a bad outing if he wants to come back next year.

If, on the other hand, he turns back the clock and pitches a gem against the Red Sox, it’s going to build a lot of momentum for him to get another one-year deal from the team. Sabathia has just as much chance to sear a positive memory into Cashman’s brain as a negative one. It all comes down to how he throws the ball in a must-win game for his team.

All of the talk around Sabathia’s start tonight will center around him keeping his team alive. Don’t forget it will also go a long way towards keeping his career with the Yankees going.