The New York Yankees will be losing their rock at the end of the 2019 season – CC Sabathia and his illustrious career will depart towards retirement after his 19th MLB campaign.
At 38-years-old, Sabathia knows his time is coming to an end, and after heart surgery that put the upcoming season into question, the decision to call it quits might be an intelligent one. But, CC isn’t done yet, as the Yankees have built a high-quality squad that has the ability to reach a World Series and potentially walk away with a 28th ring.
A long time coming:
It was expected that Sabathia would retire after 2019, but his recent ailment guaranteed it. He finished 2018 with a 3.65 ERA, earning 140 strikeouts in a 9-7 season. Overall, his performance wasn’t what it once was, but he played well enough to lead the Yankees to another playoff run.
Yankees head coach Aaron Boone commented on Sabathia’s status – MLB.com:
“Obviously he had the issue with the heart and had the stent put in,” Boone said. “I’m happy to say that is all going really well, but it also slowed down his workout routine, coming off the knee surgery. We’ll be careful with him here in the early days and slow-play him the first couple of weeks.”
“He’s doing well, but we’ll make sure that his body and conditioning, he feels really good about when we start to ramp him up on the mound.”
The Yankees re-signed the veteran to a one-year, $8 million deal last November, locking him in for one more season. In his final game of 2018 he took the loss in the ALDS to the Boston Red Sox, and we can imagine what that must feel like for a perennial Yankee. Going out on those terms was never a possibility, which is why he will seek revenge next fall.