Yankees News: C.C. Sabathia To Make Spring Training Debut on Tuesday

The New York Yankees rotation still remains full of injury-related question marks, and perhaps the biggest question mark of them all is finally scheduled to make his first spring-training appearance.

He may not be the same ace that carried the Yankees to their 2009 World Series and can easily hurl over 200 innings per season anymore, but CC Sabathia still carries a presence with him every time he steps out on to the mound.

On Tuesday night, Sabathia will make his first start since undergoing season-ending microscopic knee surgery, when he takes on the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida at 7:05pm.

"“The ball is coming out good and he is looking good,’’ catcher Brian McCann told George King III of the New York Post. “We are excited to see him on the mound again. When you are hurt it is hard to do anything. He got his knee fixed and hopefully he is able to drive off that back side. I am excited to catch him.’’"

Before we get all excited, it’s important to note that while this is the highly anticipated spring debut for the left-hander we’ve all been waiting for, it’s nothing more than another step in the extra cautious approach that the Yankees have set up for the 34-year old’s recovery process.

“It’s just a step to get him ready, that’s all it is,’’ manager Joe Girardi said. “I wouldn’t make too much of it either way. I just want to see him come out of it healthy.’’

While it won’t fully be determined after tonight’s performance, a healthy Sabathia would be a major upgrade to the Yankees rotation. Last week, Chris Capuano, who was slated for the back-end of the Yankees rotation, suffered a quadricep strain and is set to start the season on the DL.

C.C. Sabathia entered spring training as an injury-riddled question mark alongside Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) and Michael Pineda (shoulder). So far, none of the big three have suffered any sort of setback and both Tanaka and Pineda have had successful debuts earlier on in the spring. Let’s hope for more positives out on C.C. Sabathia starting tonight!

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