They didn't enter this season with very high expectations, but the New York Yankees have performed very well so far. After 35 games of play, the New York Yankees are 21-14, which is good enough for first place in the American League East.

Much of the reason why the Yankees have been winning is because of their pitching staff. The Yankees presently have the No. 5 ranked team in earned runs against average in the entire league and No. 1 in the American League.

Michael Pineda and Dellin Betances are a combined 9-0 this year on the mound. Even Nathan Eovaldi is 3-1 this season. Andrew Miller leads all of Major League Baseball with 13 saves this season. And this is all without Masahiro Tanaka, who led the Yankees in wins last season.

Having said that, there's no denying the big elephant in the room, or in this case, the ballpark. CC Sabathia is struggling like never before, and he isn't getting any younger. This begs the question: should the Yankees release Sabathia this year?

The odds of being able to trade Sabathia to another team before the July 31 trade deadline is slim to none. Sabathia is still scheduled to make $50 million over the next two seasons with the Yankees. Would releasing Sabathia save salary cap space for the Yankees? No, because as we all already know, there is no salary cap in MLB. But, it may be wise to move on from Sabathia. Not having him on the starting roster could actually be more beneficial than having him start games.

This isn't something out of the blue. Sabathia's decline has been easily noticeable for three years now. This season Sabathia is just 1-5 with an atrocious 5.2 ERA, and has just one completed game in the process. Over the last three combined seasons, Sabathia has a combined record of 18-22 with a 4.92 ERA. Again, this isn't just a little slump. This is the end. Sabathia turns 35 years old this summer, and he hasn't exactly kept in great shape off the field, reportedly weighing 300 pounds this year.

Future Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter is retired, as well as others from that time period, like Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. It might be time for the Yankees to embrace the younger generation of players and continue the rebuilding process.

Sabathia did help the Yankees win a world Series in 2009, but as Fan Sided explains, Sabathia has shut it down in this negative situation. Releasing Sabathia would be the correct decision Fan Sided clarifies.

As much as Sabathia has given the Yankees, he has never been a reliable postseason pitcher. Sabathia has a career postseason ERA of 4.53 including a terrible performance against the Detroit Tigers in his last outing. Some fans have even called him "Can't Count" (for his initials, C.C.) because of his postseason blunders.

Rafael Soriano is currently a free agent. The Dominican-born closer has recorded 32, 43 and 42 saves in the last three seasons. Some Yankees fans have suggested Sabathia be moved to relief instead of starting duties, but Soriano would be a much better option.

Trade rumors have also been swirling out of the City of Brotherly Love. The Philadelphia Phillies could trade Cole Hamels, however he still has five years remaining on his contract.

The Yankees have so far exceeded expectations, and there's no doubt about it, this young squad is heading in the right direction. If Sabathia doesn't want to take a pay cut, the Pinstripes may just want to consider outright releasing him. Although you always want to get value for a high name player, that's just not going to happen here.

Sometimes addition by subtraction is the best option.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter