Yankees' Sabathia plans to return in 2019

Hold off on those retirement tributes for CC Sabathia.

Following his start on Friday night, the New York Yankees left-hander - who had mused about walking away from baseball at various points during this season - announced that he plans to return for a 19th campaign in 2019.

"I'm going to play next year," the 38-year-old said, according to YES Network.

Sabathia added that he plans to pitch in 2019 even if he has to leave the Yankees, according to Marc Carig of The Athletic.

Sabathia re-signed with the Yankees on a one-year contract this winter despite flirting with retirement at the end of last season. Earlier this year, he stated that he'd retire if the Yankees won the World Series, but walked that back within a month and hinted that he'd be open to extending his career.

Despite battling various physical issues this year, Sabathia's managed to make 28 starts for the Yankees in 2018 and owns a 3.77 ERA with 135 strikeouts. On Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, he tossed six innings while allowing only a pair of runs to pick up his eighth win of the year.

The 2007 AL Cy Young award winner is only 19 strikeouts shy of becoming the 17th pitcher to reach 3,000 for his career. Barring a historic outing in his final regular-season start next week, Sabathia would likely in a position to reach the milestone early in 2019, assuming he returns.