Yankees’ CC Sabathia diagnosed with Grade 2 hamstring strain

The Yankees announced on Thursday that left-hander CC Sabathia has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Sabathia exited Tuesday night’s contest with discomfort in his left leg after just four innings.

Sabathia has been one of the most reliable starters for the Yankees this season going 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 13 starts. Sabathia was also 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in three starts in June, with opposing batters hitting just .200 against the big lefty.

While Grade 2 hamstring strains can take between four and eight weeks to recover from, Sabathia has remained optimistic that he will miss a lot less time than expected. Still, these hamstring strains can be complicated for pitchers on their push off leg on the mound, and Sabathia is expected to go on the 10-day DL.

For now, this loss comes as a tough blow for a hot Yankees team that is the only club that has used just the minimum five different starting pitchers this season. The Yankees may look to 40-man roster options Chad Green, Luis Cessa, or Domingo German to fill Sabathia’s spot in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Many fans would like to see a prospect like Chance Adams get his chance, but that seems like a long shot at this point in time.