CC Sabathia hopes to return this season. If he does, it may be in an unfamiliar role — as a reliever.
Sabathia received a promising prognosis from Dr. Answorth Allen on Tuesday. The 35-year-old southpaw could pitch again when he is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Sept. 8.
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“It went good — no surgery," Sabathia said of his visit with Allen, via the New York Post. “I will start the rehab process, and I feel like if I get enough rest I can come back and be healthy enough to pitch."
Sabathia, who exited his start on Sunday with pain in the same knee on which he had surgery in 2014, would be open to moving to a role in the bullpen should the Yankees want to go in that direction.
“Helping this team any way I can is what I am here to do," Sabathia said. "If that means pitching out of the bullpen, it is what it is. I am not here to make that decision, that’s not for me to make."
With Micheal Pineda expected to return from the DL Wednesday, New York's rotation would include Masahiro Tanaka, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova, and Luis Severino, who each has a lower ERA than Sabathia's 5.27 ERA this season.
Although Sabathia has only pitched out of the bullpen once in his career (2011 ALDS), the move may be for the best for the Yankees, who can not afford an unreliable outing every five games as they look to stay in the hunt for the AL East title.