What It Means:

Sabathia did add the caveat "as long as I'm healthy." He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October. The veteran southpaw will be a free agent after the 2017 campaign has wrapped. He no longer has the stuff he once did, but those 2016 numbers are a marked improvement from recent seasons, in which he had three consecutive years with ERA's north of 4.70.

This past season, Sabathia posted a 3.91 ERA and 19.8 percent strikeout rate across 179 2/3 innings pitched. but his 4.31 xFIP indicates 2016 was not necessarily the improvement it seems. An 8.5 percent walk rate -- his highest since 2004 -- seems to confirm these concerns.