New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia has been out of the lineup since Aug. 23. He was pulled out of the third inning against the Cleveland Indians because of an apparent knee injury, but his MRI revealed nothing, as reported by the New York Post.

The left-hander was put on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 24 and would come out just in time to start against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday at Yankees Stadium. Sabathia threw pitches in a simulated game last Friday and no pain complaint from the pitcher according to a separate report from the New York Post.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi plans to play Sabathia against the Orioles even though the initial reaction to the injury was not good. Girardi also looked at how Sabathia felt after throwing a bullpen session last Sunday.

"The plan is on Wednesday, but I want to see how he gets through everything. He felt good [on Saturday] and I want to make sure he feels good after his bullpen," Girardi said via New York Post.

The former AL Cy Young winner already had two surgeries on that knee and had been drained twice this season."They were talking micro-fracture surgery, and considering how it turned around I am extremely happy to be pitching Wednesday,'' Sabathia told reporters.

The 35-year-old pitcher will have to put on a brace for the remainder of the season, but Girardi has no plans on putting an innings limit on Sabathia. "I think you just watch how the innings go. He really hasn't been shut down that long," Girardi added.

The New York Post further reports that the brace is all Sabathia needs to avoid pain in his knee while pitching. He just has to fight the feeling of discomfort of wearing the brace and not altering his pitching delivery. Sabathia wore only a sleeve during the season after trying on the brace last spring training.

The Yankees are in the middle of a playoff race with the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East Crown. According to MLB stats, they are currently half a game behind the Blue Jays and five games ahead of the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins for the top AL Wild Card Spot.

In other Yankees injury news, Mark Texeira is still out because of a lower right leg injury. He fouled a ball off his leg last Aug. 17 against the Twins. Joe Girardi told the New York Post, "We will continue to treat him and try to get him better."