Sabathia contemplated retirement after latest knee injury

The clock may be winding down on the career of 37-year-old New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, but things almost ended sooner than some may have anticipated.

Sabathia, who is a free agent at the end of the season, contemplated retirement after he recently hit the disabled list with a knee injury, according to Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News.

After an MRI revealed he was dealing with right knee inflammation more than a week ago, Sabathia received a cortisone shot which appeared to do the trick.

"I can pitch as long as they want me to," Sabathia explained. "The arm feels really good. The knee feels stable."

The veteran starter has struggled with knee problems throughout his career and told Mazzeo he'll "probably" have to get a knee replacement at some point after his career is over.

But, for the time being, Sabathia - who will square off against Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night - plans to have some fun and try to help the Yankees win a championship. Sabathia won a World Series title with the Yankees in 2009.

"I'm not doing this for money or anything like that," Sabathia said. "I'm doing this for fun to try to win a championship, and if I can't have fun and help this team win then there's no need for me to be out there."

Over the course of his 17-year career, Sabathia owns a 232-146 record with a 3.71 ERA and 2,806 strikeouts across 501 starts. He also won the American League Cy Young award in 2007.