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Here it goes again.
CC Sabathia is likely headed for an MRI on his knee after experiencing another bout of fluid buildup in his injured leg. The Yankees' left-handed pitcher woke up this morning after pitching in a rehab outing with the Double-A Trenton Thunder on Wednesday with more fluid in his knee, which sent him to the disabled list in the first place. It was then that the team discovered the degenerative issue with Sabathia's knee that can't bode well for his future production. Manager Joe Girardi said Sabathia and the team are awaiting results of the MRI before figuring out how they should proceed, but it sounds like he will be shut down for a while to come after this latest aggravation.
The team hoped that Sabathia would be able to return to the rotation shortly after the All-Star break to give a hopeful boost to a back end of the rotation that could certainly use it. Vidal Nuno has been pretty terrible as a starter and Chase Whitley is rapidly racking up more innings than he has ever pitched before as a newly-converted starter. With Michael Pineda further away than Sabathia was, he may find a way to make it back to the mound before the former ace does at this point. Would anyone really be surprised if neither did at this point?
Brian Cashman has been focused on bringing in a pitcher via trade before this month's deadline if at all possible, but no one has taken him up on any offers to this point. Sabathia's latest setback just puts the Yankees in a more desperate situation that other teams can take advantage of. At one game under .500 heading into tonight, the help on both sides of offense and pitching need to come pretty soon. Unfortunately for the Yankees, there is absolutely no help to be found in the form of pitchers on the farm. That cupboard is bare.
