C-C Gets ESPN Gig, Mendoza Adds MLB Mets Role

ESPN has announced it has reached an agreement with New York Yankees pitcher and World Series Champion CC Sabathia. The Cy Young Award-winning left-hander will serve in a variety of roles beginning this season. Sabathia recently announced that he would retire from the Yankees following the 2019 season.

Sabathia will contribute analysis to various high-profile ESPN platforms this season, including on SportsCenter, Get Up!, First Take, Golic & Wingo and occasionally Baseball Tonight. He’ll appear in-studio for several of the appearances. In addition, he will periodically join ESPN Radio New York as a guest host on the Humpty & Canty show, which airs from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET. Sabathia will debut during ESPN’s spring training coverage in late March.

Dave Roberts, vice president, production:

“We’re excited to work with CC, especially as part of this unique arrangement during the final year of his storied career. He has proven to be highly knowledgeable, candid and perceptive about the sport of baseball, as well as an avid sports fan in general. That will translate well for fans across ESPN platforms.”

“As I begin to look toward the future, I’m excited to have this opportunity with ESPN,” said Sabathia. “With that said, my singular focus is on winning another World Series Championship for Yankees fans and the city of New York.”

Sabathia has twice led Major League Baseball in wins. He joined the Yankees in 2009 and won the World Series that season. Sabathia made his big-league debut in 2001 with the Cleveland Indians.

Meanwhile, MLB New York Mets have added ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza as a basbeall operations adviser..

The NYPost reports the former U.S. Olympic softball gold medalist, who will remain in the booth on “Sunday Night Baseball,” will assist the Mets in “areas of player evaluation, roster construction, technological advancement and health and performance,” the Mets said in a statement Tuesday.

She will also be in the room with the Mets for the GM meetings and winter meetings, where teams generally have all their proprietary information on display, an indication her role could be potentially significant.

Prior to accepting the job,  Mendoza first sought the approval of her bosses at ESPN.

“I think what was really cool was how immediately supportive they were. They were like, ‘100 percent, we want you to do this,’ ” Mendoza said. “It is also helpful for us as a network. To hear that and not, ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ or any other reaction, which could’ve been expected, I was partially prepared for that. That helped me, and I knew that was something that I definitely wanted to pursue.”