Sabathia going for second opinion today: “We’ll have to wait and see”

CC Sabathia had no answers last night. Can he come back this season? If so, how soon could he be back? Even in a best-case scenario, is he limited to the bullpen at this point?

He really had no idea.

“I just have to wait and see what the doctor says,” Sabathia said. “(Find out) the plan we can put together. We’ll have to wait and see, I guess.”

Sabathia is going to see the doctor later today, looking for a second opinion on the knee soreness that he said he basically the same as it was last season when he missed everything beyond early May. He’d been trying to hold back much of this season to protect the knee, but when he went full force in his most recent starts — when his numbers were significantly better — the pain became too much.

“That’s kind of what happened,” he said. “If I can’t push myself to a certain limit, then I’m not helping anybody. I’m not helping myself, not helping the organization, the team. I want to get to a level where I’m comfortable to pitch at sometime this year. … That’s the plan, to try to be back out on the field. That’s always been the plan. We’ll see what happens.”

Without Sabathia, it becomes jarring in both a good way and a bad way just how young the Yankees’ rotation has become. At 28 years old, Ivan Nova is now the oldest starter on the staff. Adam Warren and Bryan Mitchell — presumably the next two starters on the depth chart — are also younger than 28. With that youth comes inexperience.

Nova is the only Yankees starter who has even one inning of playoff experience. If the Yankees went with a playoff rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino, each one of their starters would be pitching in the postseason for the first time.

“One of those guys is going to have to step up and lead the starting group,” Joe Girardi said. “Everyone is going to have to pitch in. I’ve said it the last three or four weeks, (Sabathia)’s the one guy that’s been through this and understands it. I think his influence in the clubhouse is really important.”

Although Sabathia won’t be on this upcoming road trip, he plans to make the rest of the trips. He wants to be around as much as possible. Best-case scenario, he’ll be a part of the active roster again. Worst-case scenario, he wants to be the veteran presence he’s been since spring training.

“I’ll try to be,” Sabathia said. “It’s hard when you’re not out on the field, but I’ve grinded with these guys all season. One thousand percent I’ll stick around and try to be here as much as possible, go on road trips and see what happens.”

Associated Press photo

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