What would the Yankees pitching staff look like without ace CC Sabathia?
In four words: relatively skinny and bad. In detail: A second-year hurler who had a breakout season (Ivan Nova) mixed in with three aging, mediocre-at-best starters (Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, A.J. Burnett). And Phil Hughes?
While it’s almost insane to think Sabathia would leave the Bronx, it’s a possibility, according to the hefty lefty, who has to decide whether or not to opt out of his contract within three days of the final out of the World Series.
“Of course it would be [difficult to leave]. It was difficult for me to leave Milwaukee. But you understand that baseball is a business,” Sabathia told The New York Post outside Yankee Stadium on Monday. “I do love it here. My family loves it here. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Sabathia has four years and $92 million remaining on his deal. He went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 2011 — his third straight year of 19 or more wins — and has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA in 101 starts over three years in the Bronx.
