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Sabathia will start the second game of the season on April 4 against the Rays, manager Joe Girardi announced Friday, Anthony Rieber of Newsday reports.
Now 36, it's quite a turnaround for Sabathia, who had to battle for a rotation spot last spring after finishing the 2014 and 2015 seasons with 5.28 and 4.73 ERAs, respectively. Though he did see some improvement in 2016 on the way to curtailing his HR/9 rate and posting his first sub-4.00 ERA since 2012, it might say more of the state of the Yankees' current rotation options than anything else that he's this high up in the pecking order. The veteran lefty won't likely regain his mid-career form, but he should still be a solid innings eater capable of posting decent strikeout numbers.
