CC Sabathia took a step forward in his slow road back from his right knee injury and hasn’t ruled out returning before the All-Star break.
But even after throwing his first bullpen on Monday following the May procedure when he had stem cells injected into his knee, the Yankees insist he’s not close to returning.
“There’s no discomfort,” Sabathia said Tuesday of the 25-pitch session. “I haven’t felt anything. [I’ll] just keep going and keep ramping it up and hopefully get back as soon as possible.”
Manager Joe Girardi, though, admitted Sabathia would likely need what amounts to another spring training before he’s ready to pitch in the majors.
“I think that’s fair, if everything is on track, it’s going to be fairly similar,” Girardi said before the Yankees’ 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. “He’s been out a little bit, so [he] somewhat needs to rebuild up.”
And the Yankees can’t afford to have Sabathia come back and perform like the pitcher he has been the better part of the last year and a half. They would rather bring him back slowly and allow him more time to at least get close to who he was before he had elbow surgery after the 2012 season.
Sabathia is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Wednesday and unlike Monday, when he stuck to fastballs and changeups, Girardi expects the left-hander to mix in some sliders.
“We’ll just continue to increase the amount of pitches he throws,” Girardi said. “Then we’ll kind of go day-by-day with him. If he gets through [Wednesday], he’ll probably throw another bullpen. … So far, so good. He came out good from [Monday]. I would expect him to continue to progress, but we’ll see.”
That still leaves Sabathia with batting practice, simulated games and rehab games before he can realistically expect to be back.
Michael Pineda will play catch Saturday, according to Girardi.
Francisco Cervelli was activated Tuesday from the 60-day DL after being out with a strained right hamstring and in addition to serving as Brian McCann’s backup behind the plate, Cervelli is still working at first base.
“I’m comfortable there, but I don’t want to forget about catching,” said Cervelli, who played some first base while rehabbing in the minors and has even taken grounders at third. “A little bit of everything. If they want [me] to pitch, I’ll pitch.”
Cervelli laughed, but with the way this season has gone, nothing seems impossible. More importantly, Cervelli said his hamstring was fully healed.
John Ryan Murphy was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Cervelli.
“He played extremely well,” Girardi said of Murphy. “He’s had his share of playing time but we think it’s important he goes and plays every day and continues his development.”
After general manager Brian Cashman indicated Adam Warren was next in line to join the rotation if help was needed — and it may be, thanks to Vidal Nuno’s struggles — Girardi said the right-hander only could go 45-50 pitches.
“There [are] conversations we have all the time to try to improve our club and we’ll continue to look at things,” Girardi said. “Warren’s been a vital part of our bullpen and he really stepped up when [Shawn] Kelley went down.”
When asked if Warren would have to be sent down to get stretched out if the Yankees decide to make a move, Girardi said it wouldn’t necessarily have to happen.
— Additional reporting by Howie Kussoy