The New York Yankees will continue to play without CC Sabathia as the star pitcher was shut down indefinitely due to his ailing knee, the team announced on Thursday.
Sabathia, who is just 3-4 this season with 5.28 ERA, has not played since May 10. He was supposed to consider returning before the 2014 MLB All-Star break, but suffered another setback in his recovery.
The 33-year-old pitcher tested his knee when he started for Double-A Trenton on Wednesday wherein he allowed five runs and five hits in 3.3 innings.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that an MRI on Thursday revealed that Sabathia needs more time to recover from his knee problems.
"We're waiting to see what the next step is," Girardi said of Sabathia's injury on Thursday via ESPN. "Can't tell you how long he's going to be shut down. He said nothing during the game about it, he woke up today, and that's the report I got. Today it was swollen, similar to what he's experienced before."
Reports indicated that Sabathia might miss the rest of the season if he undergoes surgery, but Girardi insisted that nothing is final until after Sabathia's visit with world-renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
"That's what the doctors determine, not me," Girardi said of the possible surgery. "Like I said, it's not what we wanted. You don't want a setback like this. I think it's going to be a few days, I'm not talking Tuesday or Wednesday; I think Dr. Andrews is out of town for a while."
Meanwhile, Masahiro Tanaka recorded his 12th win after the Yankees escaped with a 7-4 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday at the Target Field in Minneapolis.
Carlos Beltran had a big night as he hit a three-run homer, which helped Tanaka improve his record to 12-3 this season. The Japanese pitcher became the first rookie pitcher in franchise history to win 12 game before the All-Star break.
Tanaka added another win on his young career, but the fast-rising star actually had one of his worst starts, allowing a season-high four runs and only had three strikeouts, his lowest this season, although it was enough to earn praises from Girardi.
"They're not going to be perfect every time. He's been about as consistent as you can be as a starting pitcher. He just wasn't quite as sharp," Girardi said.
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