Who Is Going to Say No to CC Beyond 2017?

The New York Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday night despite completing a sweep of the Boston Red Sox in a three-game set. Too little too late for the Bombers this season but it may not be too little too late for the man who was on the mound in that start, CC Sabathia. Once thought to be “done” and “washed up” after losing velocity on his fastball and after dealing with a degenerative knee condition the Yankees veteran left-handed has learned how to finally “pitch” rather than just throw the ball by everyone in the league and the results have been spectacular. After a relatively healthy season in 2016 and a solid season by all accounts Sabathia has his eye not only on 2017 but beyond that as well once his current contract expires with New York. Right now, who is going to tell him no that he can’t come back to the Bronx in 2017? Not me.

Sabathia was a machine from 2009 to 2012 with the Yankees posting a 74-29 record but his health and velocity dropped off suddenly leaving CC unsure of what to do. CC was used to rearing back and finding 95+ MPH to get him out of any situation, not Sabathia was left with an 88 – 92 MPH fastball that he had to pinpoint every single time to be successful. After working with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and a former Yankees ace that went through a similar transformation in Andy Pettitte the big man seems to have finally figured it out in 2016. We saw Sabathia make steps towards putting it all together in recent years but when he got into trouble he could still be seen trying to simply blow hitters away, now CC isn’t afraid to walk a guy or pitch around a guy to maximize efficiency and outs making him a perfect and durable candidate to anchor a young and upcoming Yankees rotation from the 5^th starter spot.

CC will never be the 2009 version again by any stretch of the imagination but CC has somehow found a way to be dominant nonetheless while also leading the team in starts made and innings pitched. Overall Sabathia finished the year with 29 starts, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP but I can remember at the beginning of the season when CC held a sub-3.00 ERA and a 3.17 ERA into the month of July before getting hit around a bit. I can’t think of a team that wouldn’t take a veteran arm who’s been there on a reasonable contract at the back end of their bullpen, especially if he brings the health and stability he brought to the Yankees this season. Why not make that team the Yankees?

I know a lot can happen between now and this time in 2017 but if you’re asking me right now, this instant, I’m signing him up if he’s healthy. You can have all the young guns and rising stars in the rotation you want but they are going to need the old, savvy veteran to show them how it’s done. That’s CC.