Sabathia expects to be healthy for Spring Training

Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, on the comeback trail from knee surgery, told the New York Daily News on Friday that he is experiencing no pain and expects to be ready for Spring Training. Sabathia was in New York attending a boxing event put on by Roc Nation Sports, the agency that represents him.

The 34-year-old made only eight starts last season, going 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA. He last pitched on May 10, suffering from a degenerative right knee condition that led to surgery in late July.

But Sabathia told the Daily News that he has been playing catch, and he probably will progress to bullpen sessions by the end of the month.

"I feel good, I don't have any pain, no nothing," Sabathia said. "My arm feels good."

Sabathia has two years and $48 million remaining on his contract, plus a $25 million vesting option or $5 million buyout for 2017. The former American League Cy Young Award winner went 74-29 with a 3.22 ERA over his first four seasons with the Yankees, but his ERA shot up to 4.78 in '13 before last year's injury-plagued campaign. In light of that, Sabathia said he's not targeting a certain number of innings this coming season, but he simply wants to be healthy.

"If I can be healthy, I'm sure all that other stuff will fall in place," Sabathia said.