Yankees Announce ALCS Roster Move After Removing CC Sabathia Following Injury
By Michael Luciano
Now trailing the Houston Astros 3-1 in the 2019 ALCS, it appears that we may have seen the last of CC Sabathia on the mound. The legendary Yankees pitcher exited New York's Game 4 loss with an injury, and was promptly taken off of the ALCS roster.
The Yankees added hard-throwing right-handed reliever Ben Heller to replace the veteran.
Prior to tonight's game, the Yankees replaced LHP CC Sabathia on the ALCS roster with RHP Ben Heller. LHP CC Sabathia suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder joint.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 18, 2019
Acquired from the Cleveland Indians as part of the Andrew Miller-Clint Frazier deal, Heller has been bouncing between the Yankees and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders since 2016. In 25 games as a Yankee, Heller has a 2-0 record with a 2.49 ERA, including a 1.23 ERA in six games toward the end of the 2019 season.
This move leaves Zach Britton, Tyler Lyons and Aroldis Chapman as the remaining left-handers in the Yankee bullpen for this series.
Earlier this morning, we called it his "possible" final appearance in pinstripes, now we know it was. CC Sabathia's career is over after suffering a subluxation (partial dislocation) of his left shoulder joint. He has been replaced by Ben Heller on the #Yankees 25-man roster. https://t.co/620iOKmdH0
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) October 18, 2019
The CC injury is a gut punch for the morale of Yankee fans everywhere. As one of the best pitchers ever now has to slink off into the night because of an injury rather than being part of an immortal October moment.