BOSTON — The loss of Masahiro Tanaka for at least a month — and possibly much more — means the Yankees can’t afford too many more outings from CC Sabathia like they got in his last start, when he gave up seven runs in five innings in an 8-2 loss to the Mets.
General manager Brian Cashman is optimistic it was just a one-game blip as the big lefty heads into Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox on Friday at Fenway Park.
“He’s 0-4, but those other three games we lost for other reasons besides him,’’ Cashman said Thursday by phone. “Overall, his performance has been pretty good. Obviously, the last one wasn’t, but hopefully has a bounce-back start.”
En route to that 0-4 record, Sabathia has a 5.96 ERA, a 22-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 31 hits allowed in 25 2/3 innings.
And with Chase Whitley’s solid outing on Tuesday, Cashman added he believes the Yankees still have enough rotation depth. Chris Capuano, who suffered a strained right quad during spring training, has yet to begin a rehab stint from, so his return to the staff isn’t imminent.
“We just need them to do what they can do,’’ Cashman said.
Sabathia, who gave up three home runs to the Mets in the Yankees’ only Subway Series loss, put pressure on himself to step up.
“So much goes on that we can’t control, so it’s up to us to handle our own business and be ready to play,” Sabathia said. “We just have to do what we do: Keep this team in the game and get to the bullpen. And that starts with me.”
The bullpen, which has been very effective, got a little less deep in the minors when Andrew Bailey was shut down after an MRI exam showed a shoulder strain.
Bailey, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing surgery in 2013, stayed in Tampa after a promising spring training.
“He’s always had the odds against him,” Cashman said of the right-hander’s comeback attempt. “His performance this spring gave all of us some optimism. Now we’ll see if this is a serious problem or just a setback.”
Cashman, like the rest of the Yankees, is waiting for Carlos Beltran to start delivering on the three-year, $45 million contract he signed before last season. After being bothered by an elbow injury for much of last year, Beltran has been even worse in 2015 and has seen Chris Young cut into his playing time.
“Our coaches say he’s still looking for his swing,” Cashman said of the 38-year-old Beltran, who has two hits and a pair of walks in his last 24 plate appearances, along with nine strikeouts.
“If you want to look at the negative, you can speculate about his age and how he’s done the last two years. But there are a lot of high-end players who are doing unexpected things in April — some good and some not great — and you wait for the market correction. … Until he performs, there’s going to be speculation.”
The Yankees haven’t given up on the Cuban market just yet. According to someone with knowledge of the situation, the team held an individual workout for infielder Andy Ibanez this week in Tampa.
Ibanez, 22, was also scouted by the Yankees earlier in April at a workout in Miami. He is considered to be a middle infield prospect not in the class of Red Sox prize Yoan Moncada, whom the Yankees failed to sign this spring.
Ibanez is eligible to sign immediately and is expected to get up to a $10 million bonus. The Yankees would have to pay a 100-percent tax because they exceeded their limit on international spending for this signing period with a flurry of moves last July.
Additional reporting by George A. King III