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Yankees’ veteran CC Sabathia on 2017: ‘I think we can contend’

In 2017, the Yankees will be dependent upon a starting rotation manned by unproven arms with minimal experience. This isn’t a result of bad luck or missed opportunities — it’s exactly where New York wants to be.

But much like the front office’s mentality during its pseudo-rebuild, veteran starting pitcher CC Sabathia believes postseason contention hopes should be high for next season, despite being a team in transition.

“Look at the way we played last year at the end of the year,” Sabathia told Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media on Wednesday during the Yankees’ 23rd annual Holiday Food Drive at Yankee Stadium. “Obviously (catcher Gary Sanchez) coming up and doing what he did was huge for us. But I think we can. The guys in here — the young guys are talented enough that they can carry us to where we want to go.”

The 36-year-old veteran is in the process of rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in mid-October, and expects to be ready for spring training. But the competition battle he won last March against Ivan Nova for the fifth rotation slot is no longer Sabathia’s fight. Instead, if the lefty is healthy, he could be placed right behind Masahiro Tanaka as the No. 2 arm, due to sporadic inconsistencies with Michael Pineda.

While there are several question marks, Sabathia turned his optimism toward two young righties in 23-year-old Luis Severino and 25-year-old Chad Green.

“He was young coming into last year, and there were some heavy expectations on him,’’ Sabathia said of Severino, who went 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 11 starts. “Things kind of snowballed on him. Obviously, going back down, coming back up and pitching well out of the bullpen. Confidence-wise, we know he can pitch up here. He has the talent and he works hard. That’s all it takes.

“Green is unreal. I feel like he has a chance to be really good in the big leagues. We’ll see how it shakes out. But it’s fun to have this much talent and a lot of guys to pick from to go forward.”

Sabathia is also thrilled to see the return of a familiar face in closer Aroldis Chapman, who signed a five-year, $86 million deal to rejoin the Yankees. At the David Ortiz Golf Classic in earlier December, Sabathia spoke with Chapman, and was under the impression that the 28-year-old flamethrower intended to come back to New York all along.

“He’s obviously a great piece for us,” Sabathia said. “He went on to do his thing in the World Series with the Cubs but it’s great to have him back. I think it’s going to help our bullpen. Obviously, I think it’s going to help Dellin (Betances) and (Tyler) Clippard and those guys at the back end of the bullpen, so I’m looking forward to watching him.

“You feel good when you have a strong bullpen. Obviously, you have those three, probably the best three relievers in the game at one point in our bullpen. That makes it a lot of fun. But I think with the guys that we have now, you have that same kind of relief where you can go out and pitch a good game and feel like the game is shut down once you get to those guys.”

Sabathia who finished 9-12 with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts last season, will enter the final year of his contract in 2017, as his $25 million option vested when the veteran didn’t finish 2016 on the disabled list.

If you want to connect with Tom Hanslin, email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @tomhanslin.