Evidence mounts: Starter is needed

Struggles by Sabathia, Paxton remind Yankees of their vulnerability

MINNEAPOLIS — Monday when CCSabathia took the mound at Target Field it was another reminder of the urgency that faces the Yankees front office in this final nine days until the trade deadline. Over the last month, Sabathia, who had knee surgery and emergency angioplasty this winter, has been consistent and effective.

The Yankees know, however, the big 39-year-old lefty is always one misstep off the mound from a potential injury list stint and that’s a concern for their rotation.

Sabathia had been solid his last four starts, going 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA, striking out 27 and holding opposing teams to three homers over 25 innings. He’s gone deep enough in games and been exactly what the Yankees hoped he could be when they re-signed him to one final major league contract.

But, Sabathia has only made one of those starts on the typical four days of rest a starter receives. Since June 24, he’s had anywhere between eight and 12 days of rest. Sabathia has used the extra time between those to nurse his arthritic right knee, and keep himself effective.

On Monday, Sabathia was facing a lineup that hits a lot of balls out of the park — and he was doing it on just one extra day’s rest. It showed, as the Twins homered on Sabathia four times.

“All of his pitches have been working for him. He’s had the cutter going, the backdoor slider, the changeup. They’ve all been good pitches for him,” Boone said. “I feel like for the most part he’s been really efficient with his pitches, meaning he’s throwing a lot of strikes and he’s getting some early contact at times. So he’s been usually pretty pitch efficient