Sabathia 'anxious' to be back on the field

NEW YORK -- CC Sabathia's familiar figure once again occupied the space in front of his Yankee Stadium locker on Friday, a welcome sight for many reasons. It was especially so because his teammates could really use his services between the white lines.

Returning from right knee surgery in the offseason and a December health scare that prompted the insertion of a stent in an artery leading to his heart, Sabathia said that he is ready to begin his 19th and final Major League campaign. He was activated from the injured list prior to Saturday's game against the White Sox, which he will start.

"I'm really anxious to be a part of it," Sabathia said. "Professional athletes know that guys are going to get hurt. We're going through a tough spell right now. It just is what it is. We have games. We have to play. We have to keep going. I think guys coming back want to come back and give the team a boost."

Sabathia had a late start to his offseason program due to the angioplasty, which was performed on Dec. 11. Though his name appeared on the Opening Day roster, that was to facilitate the expiration of a five-game suspension carried over from last September, and he remained in Tampa, Fla., as the team played its first contests.

He cleared his final rehab hurdle on Sunday, allowing a run on one hit over 4 2/3 innings for Class A Advanced Tampa against the Tigers' Lakeland affiliate. Sabathia struck out six and walked one, throwing 40 of 62 pitches for strikes.

"It's been a pretty smooth build-up for him, I feel like," manager Aaron Boone said. "Knowing that he's doing well physically is really encouraging. What he brings to us between the lines, there's no question that his presence in our room is one of the intangible things that he brings that's really valuable. It's really good to have our big guy back."

Watching from afar, Sabathia said that he could not recall being on a team so bitten by the injury bug -- Gary Sánchez became the 12th Yankee to land on the injured list on Friday -- but Sabathia expressed confidence that the Yankees will power through.

"It's the beginning of the season," Sabathia said. "I saw a team that is dealing with a lot of injuries, that's playing hard and going to try to get to where we need to get. It's always hard when you've got a lot of injuries, but I think we'll be fine."

Gettin' Miggy
Miguel Andújar is cautiously optimistic as he hopes to avoid surgery on his partially torn right labrum, having tossed at a short distance on Thursday while also taking 50 swings in the batting cage -- 25 "dry" cuts without contact, and 25 while hitting a ball on a tee.

"It went well," Andujar said through an interpreter. "It doesn't affect the swing at all. The discomfort you feel, you feel it when you throw. But today, it felt better."

Andujar estimated that he was swinging at about 50 percent of his usual game effort. Boone called it "another step forward" for the 24-year-old, who finished second in last year's AL Rookie of the Year Award chase.

"It's going to really come down to how he handles the throwing as we continue to ramp it up," Boone said. "He threw a little further distance today, but he's still light throwing. The question will be now -- as he slowly but surely ramps it up -- can he handle the throws necessary to play? That'll be the determining factor."

Injury report
Giancarlo Stanton (left biceps strain) hit off a tee and soft-tossed on Friday at Yankee Stadium. Boone said that the slugger "keeps bouncing back" and could return to the lineup this month.

Aaron Hicks (left lower-back pain) performed tee and soft-toss drills on Friday in Tampa, Fla. He also threw and ran on the treadmill. Boone said that Hicks could return to on-field activities early next week.

This date in Yankees history
April 12, 1993: Paul O'Neill makes his Yankee Stadium debut, going 4-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs in a 4-1 victory over the Royals.