Back at scene of injury, CC healthy & set to go

TORONTO — A dejected CC Sabathia initially thought his season was over when he reinjured his bothersome right knee in a start against the Blue Jays here last August, only to return quickly following a brief stint on the disabled list to help pitch the Yankees to within one win of the World Series.

Sabathia will make his first start of the season on Saturday at Rogers Centre, but the veteran lefty claims he has no concerns “at all” about returning to the turf-field site of his lowest moment of 2017.

“It was rough. It was a tough time,” Sabathia recalled before Friday night’s 4-2 win. “Obviously, I didn’t know what was going on inside or going forward. It just so happened that it happened here, but I feel good and I feel healthy right now, so I’m ready to go.”

The Blue Jays were among the teams Sabathia negotiated with as a free agent over the winter before returning to the Yanks on a one-year deal worth $10 million, a $15 million pay cut from his salary the previous two seasons.

“You never know, everything is always on the table, I had conversations with a bunch of different teams and this was one of them,” Sabathia said.

“But ultimately I wanted to be back here with the Yankees. I feel like this is home. Nine years at the time, 10 years now, this is where I wanted to be.” Friday morning in Tampa.

“I was called up to the office by (minorleague coordinator) Kevin Reese this morning and was wondering what I did wrong to be honest, and they said I’ll be going to Toronto, so I was pretty excited,” McKinney said before making his MLB debut and singling in his first career at-bat. “I’m here to do whatever I can to help the team, so I was excited to find out I was playing today.”

McKinney, who was called up with Aaron Hicks injured, plans to give his first-hit ball to both his parents “as soon as I see them.”

McKinney was acquired from the Cubs along with Gleyber Torres in the 2016 Aroldis Chapman trade. The 23-year-old batted just .167 during spring training but he tied for the team lead with five homers and 13 RBI.