MILWAUKEE — The New York Yankees’ injury-plagued rotation has taken another big hit.
Struggling left-hander CC Sabathia was placed on the 15-day disabled list before Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers with inflammation in his right knee.
The move came a day after the left-hander allowed three home runs in a no-decision against the Brewers. Milwaukee won 5-4.
Sabathia is the fourth-highest paid player in baseball with a $24.3 million salary. He is 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA, with opponents hitting .301 off him this season.
Until now, all the questions about Sabathia were about his arm and a drop in velocity. Turns out his right leg is a bigger problem right now.
“I’m not going to sit here and kill myself and be negative,” Sabathia said Saturday night after allowing eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. “So we will go from there, and I’ll be out there five days from now ready to go.”
Not anymore. The Yankees will have to find yet another pitcher to plug into the rotation with Sabathia having been scheduled to pitch next on Thursday night against the New York Mets at Citi Field in the Subway Series.
The once-reliable ace has lost his touch at a time when the Yankees needed him most. New York is already minus two injured starters in Ivan Nova (season-ending elbow surgery) and Michael Pineda (back). Japanese rookie Masahiro Tanaka has taken over at the top of a rotation that looked formidable just a few weeks ago.
Pineda, has completed his 10-game suspension for using pine tar and was placed on the 15-day DL last week. Manager Joe Girardi said before Sunday’s game that Pineda was playing catch, though his recovery might take a little longer than the initial timetable of three to four weeks.
Girardi did not mention Sabathia’s injury before Sunday’s game, the last of a three-game interleague set against Milwaukee. Right-hander Matt Daley was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Sabathia’s spot on the roster.
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