Yankees Place CC Sabathia on Disabled List With Strained Groin

The New York Yankees placed pitcher CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin, his first time on the list in four seasons with the American League team.

Sabathia, 31, is expected to miss two starts and will return after the Major League Baseball All-Star break, the team announced today on its Twitter account. Sabathia is tied with Ivan Nova for the team lead with nine wins.

“He understands it’s the best thing to do,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told MLB.com. “Missing two starts is better than seven or eight.”

Sabathia originally felt pain during his last start, on June 24 against the New York Mets. Freddy Garcia, 35, will replace him in the rotation.

A five-time All-Star, Sabathia is 9-3 this season with a 3.45 earned-run average and a team-high 105 strikeouts. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2007 as a member of the Cleveland Indians and a World Series title with New York in 2009, his first year with the Yankees.

The Yankees are 45-28 this season, four games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division. Their first action after the July 10 All-Star Game is three days later against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

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New York Yankees' CC Sabathia

Elsa/Getty Images

CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets on June 24, 2012 during interleague play at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York.

CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets on June 24, 2012 during interleague play at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Photographer: Elsa/Getty Images