Sabathia finalizes Yanks deal, says 2019 his final season

CARLSBAD, Calif. – CC Sabathia says 2019 will be in his major season in the major leagues.

"This will be it," the 38-year-old left-hander said in a video posted on Twitter on Wednesday after the New York Yankees finalized his $ 8 million, one-year contract.

Sabathia and New York had reached the agreement Tuesday, subject to a successful physical.

At six-time All-Star and the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, Sabathia went 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts this year. He had surgery on his right knee after the 2010 season, in July 2014, after the 2016 season and again last month. Sabathia pitches with a brace on the knee

He is 246-153 in 18 major league seasons with a 3.70 ERA and 2,986 strikeouts, including 129-80 in a decade with the Yankees. His new deal boosts his pay from New York to $ 229 million.

Sabathia signed a $ 161 million, seven-year contract with the Yankees before the 2009 season and led New York to its first World Series title since 2000, then used the leverage of an opt-out provision after the 2011 season to get a new deal that added a $ 25 million salary for 2016 with a $ 25 million team option for 2017.

Sabathia took a cut to $ 10 million this year. He missed a $ 500,000 performance when he was ejected in his last regular-season start for hitting Tampa Bay's Jesus Sugar after Rays Andrew Kittredge pike threw up-and-in to Austin Romaine. Sabathia was suspended the first of 2019 but has appealed.

"At this stage of the game, we should know more or something," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said earlier Tuesday.

"Last year we had to be really careful about everything we took in because we were having that luxury-tax issue in the back of our minds."

The Yankees' projected rotation for 2019 also includes Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, and Cashman says he's looking for a lot of pitchers after the team went 100-62 only to finish second in the AL East and lose in the Boston Division, the eventual World Series champion.

Cashman said Luke is going to be a starter at first base, and it will be up to Greg Bird to earn the job back. Bird had ankle surgery in late March, returned in mid-May and hit .199 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs. See, acquired from St. Louis on July 28, hit .333 with 14 homers and 33 RBIs in 39 games.

"He finished it in the middle of our lineup in the postseason, so we would not change our evaluation process," Cashman said.

"Somebody's earned that right and somebody because of injuries, but I do not think they will have a chance to resuscitate and prove themselves."

Both can be selected to the next year minors.

Cashman rehearsed Sonny Gray, just 15-16 since New York acquired him from Oakland in July 2017. A right-hander who turns 29 this week, Yankees fans.

"It's been a year-and-a-half, I'm not going to be Sisyphus pushing the rock up a hill and having it roll back on top of me," Cashman said. "It's not working. I'm not going to be willing to go ahead. So I will be reallocate his abilities to some other club for a still-to-be determined price tag, and he will be good again. Trust me. I think he's a heck of a pitcher. He's a very successful major leaguer, and it's just going to happen somewhere else. "

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