The only thing more difficult than watching CC Sabathia pitch these days is seeing the pained expression on his face when he addresses the media after each game. Yankee fans have grown so accustomed to the big lefty being in command, both on the field and off, so the sight of Sabathia slumping on the mound, and then again by his locker, has been somewhat disconcerting.
For the most part, Sabathia’s struggles have been handled well by Yankee fans, at least those with a long memory. Sure, there was a smattering of boos when the lefty walked off the mound after last night’s clunker, but for the most part, the reaction has been polite applause. Sabathia’s earned that level of patience and respect from the fans. But, should the organization be as abiding?
You can’t exaggerate how poorly CC Sabathia has pitched this season. The left hander has posted an ERA+ of 70 in his 15 starts, which puts him on pace for one of worst seasons by a Yankees’ pitcher. And yet, the Yankees seemingly have no plans to remove him from the rotation. After last night’s game, Joe Girardi was peppered with questions about Sabathia’s status in the rotation. Ever loyal (or is it stubborn?), the Yankees’ manager never waivered. “He’s a starter for us. That’s what he is,” Girardi told the throng. But, for how much longer?
Worst ERA+ by a Yankees Pitcher, 1901-2015
| Player | Age | ERA+ | IP | Year | GS | ERA |
| Bill Stafford | 23 | 59 | 89.2 | 1963 | 14 | 6.02 |
| Ray Fisher | 24 | 62 | 90.1 | 1912 | 13 | 5.88 |
| Jack Quinn | 28 | 63 | 102.2 | 1912 | 11 | 5.79 |
| Tim Leary | 32 | 64 | 120.2 | 1991 | 18 | 6.49 |
| Russ Van Atta | 28 | 65 | 88 | 1934 | 9 | 6.34 |
| Bill Monbouquette | 31 | 65 | 89.1 | 1968 | 11 | 4.43 |
| Wade Taylor | 25 | 66 | 116.1 | 1991 | 22 | 6.27 |
| Danny MacFayden | 28 | 67 | 90.1 | 1933 | 6 | 5.88 |
| Ambrose Puttmann | 24 | 69 | 86.1 | 1905 | 9 | 4.27 |
| Rollie Sheldon | 25 | 69 | 118 | 1962 | 16 | 5.49 |
| Dave LaPoint | 29 | 69 | 113.2 | 1989 | 20 | 5.62 |
| Jeff Johnson | 24 | 70 | 127 | 1991 | 23 | 5.95 |
| David Cone | 37 | 70 | 155 | 2000 | 29 | 6.91 |
| CC Sabathia | 34 | 70 | 87.2 | 2015 | 15 | 5.65 |
| Atley Donald | 32 | 70 | 119.1 | 1943 | 15 | 4.60 |
Note: Minimum 85 innings.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
There are three reasons why the Yankees shouldn’t remove Sabathia from the rotation. The first deals with the past. Although some fans think of players as expendable once their skills diminish, a legacy should count for something. Great players like Sabathia deserve an extended benefit of the doubt, regardless of the degree of incredulity. Sabathia has earned a chance to pitch through his struggles, not only as a reward for past success, but because former greatness always has a reasonable chance of re-emerging.
The second reason has to do with the present state of the Yankees’ rotation. Although a strong showing from Ivan Nova could change the calculus, the team’s starting staff is loaded with question marks. Can Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda remain healthy? Will Nathan Eovaldi, who hasn’t pitched much better than Sabathia, finally harness his “stuff”? And, at what point does Adam Warren reach his innings limit? Unless the Yankees plan on acquiring a starter, which doesn’t seem likely considering their aversion to spending money, the team is going to need Sabathia, so pulling the plug now would be counterproductive.
Finally, the future also begs for Sabathia to remain in the rotation. Once again, unless the Yankees are willing to eat the final two years on his contract (assuming a shoulder injury doesn’t void the second), Sabathia is going to have some kind of role on the team through 2017. If the Yankees want to maximize their return, it doesn’t make season to short circuit the lefty’s transition to a new style after only 15 starts.
Although the Yankees shouldn’t remove Sabathia from the rotation, the pressures of the pennant race may soon leave them no choice. And, if it comes to that, the front office will be as much to blame as the poor performance of the former ace. Instead of scouring for bargains, like Eovaldi and Chris Capuano, during the off season, the Yankees could have filled out their rotation with a proven free agent whose dependability and durability would have eased the strain on the rest of the rotation. However the Yankees decided they didn’t want to bear the cost. Hopefully, Sabathia doesn’t wind up paying the price instead.
1st point: He hasn’t been bad just this season. He hasn’t been good since 2012. It’s not like this is a new thing. He’s been getting progressively worse each season. CC’s earned some leash, but at some point, reality, and the best interests of the team need to take priority.
2nd point: They do need to see what Nova can do first before making a decision. But there is no way CC should stay in the rotation over Warren at this point. The Yankees added payroll at the deadline last year. No reason to think they’d be completely averse to it this year. Regardless, he could still operate out of the bullpen with the possibility of returning to the rotation at some later point. Even Moose was (briefly) demoted to the bullpen at one point, before later returning to the rotation.
3rd point: He hasn’t been transitioning for 15 starts. He’s been transitioning for the last few years. Keeping a drastically underperforming starter in the rotation and harming the team’s chances of competing isn’t maximizing value. It’s minimizing value.
Maximizing value would be using him in a role in which he could be useful and successful, or at least minimizing the damage he could cause.
“Hopefully, Sabathia doesn’t wind up paying the price instead.”
It’s not Sabathia who would be paying the price. It’s the Yankees playoff prospects.
If Sabathia isn’t able to perform at the level of a viable MLB starter (which he isn’t doing currently), removing him from that role certainly isn’t an unfair price to pay. Results matter. Performance matters. No matter how great he may have been in the past, there comes a point where they need to move on for the overall good of the franchise. I don’t think they are quite at that point yet, but they are certainly getting close.
It’s only been 15 starts since a significant surgery, so it’s unfair to say his current struggles are an extension of the previous two years. Having said that, if the Yankees were willing to eat Sabathia’s salary, then all bets are off, but because they probably will not, the team needs to salvage as much as possible from CC over the next two years.
Ultimately, I agree that CC may wind up being the odd man out, and he would deserve to be (all those Eovaldi could still make a case), but that’s not really my point. If the Yankees had a rotation fronted by Scherzer, Tanaka, Pineda, for example, they could give Sabathia more time to figure things out (or better determine if he isn’t capable of doing so).